


Waiting For Our Superman

by tearsandholdme



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe, Babies, Coffee Shops, Domestic Fluff, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Falling In Love, Father-Son Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Homelessness, Jealousy, M/M, Mpreg, Overprotective Derek, POV Alternating, Pregnancy Scares, Romance, Single Parent Stiles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-31
Updated: 2014-12-13
Packaged: 2018-02-15 13:09:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 95,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2230248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tearsandholdme/pseuds/tearsandholdme
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Derek knew the moment he opened the front door of his clean and pristine apartment to Stiles Stilinski holding a small boy, a cluster of bags, and a suitcase, he was screwed. In every way possible. Undone by the big brown eyes of a small child and his annoying, witty, and attractive father.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I have the worst head and get bored too easily and this just popped into my head. 
> 
> So I'm writing it. :)
> 
> Feedback is greatly appreciated. Kisses and cookies, enjoy.

One of the best decisions he made was to move to New York. Stiles had been twenty one, young, fresh out of college. Scott by his side as they settled into the new city and Beacon Hills was left behind. Five years later, he was standing in his apartment, his arms wrapped around his cold body as he stood in his dingy apartment. The winters were harsh, brutal on days when the temperature dropped, the wind blew at you till your cheeks were rosy and your hands were numb. Even with his high temperate, he felt the cold more than ever. Being a werewolf didn't solve everything in the end. Stiles' attention was drew to the window when he stared out at the street below. Living on the top floor had it's advantages and he stared down at the people hurrying down the sidewalks. Their heads bent battling the wind and the trickle of rain. His breath left him harshly and he turned his head at the small gurgle coming from the playpen centered in the room. 

His hand fixed on top of the soft fabric of the playpen. Jamie stared up at him, his eyes wide and the exact same shade of brown. They were beautiful and he smiled down at him in greeting. Jamie gurgled, his hands waving when he clutched at Blue. It was his favorite teddy bear, given to him when he was born and placed with him ever since. Stiles had to thank his dad for it, it was his present after all. 

“There's my boy,” he whispered, scooping him up and nuzzling his cheek. It was cool and he gently held him close to convey body heat. 

“Ba, da,” Jamie cried in his baby speech. Eight months old and already able to form very small words. Stiles hummed sitting down, his legs folding into him as he brought a blanket up and over them. 

“Should we put cartoons on before bath and bed time?” he murmured, his thumb pressing the television on. Jamie leaned his head against his chest, his eyes fixed on the television as the afternoon cartoons played. Stiles pressed gentle kisses into his fluffy dark hair holding him close and breathing in his scent. The respect he held for single moms and dads reached levels he never ever thought he could achieve. It was hard but god it was so worth it. 

Today was his day off working in the coffee shop and he was taking full advantage of it. He ran a bath for him and chucked in a few of his toys before undressing him and slipping him into the bubbles. Jamie giggled, his hands splashing the water, his eyes flashing gold to show his pure delight in his bath. Stiles smirked at him as he rubbed baby shampoo into his hair and gently washed away the bubbles.

“Cha!” he cried, holding the duck up. 

“Yes, it's a duck, can you say duck?” 

Jamie didn't answer, his eyes flashing gold at him till he flashed his own eyes. He laughed clapping his hands in delight again and he reached for him instinctively. Stiles scooped him out of the bath and wrapped him up in a fluffy white towel. He rubbed his nose gently against his so he smiled, hand patting his cheek gently. The room was warm with the orange glow of the lamp when it was bedtime. Jamie was dressed in his baby blue pajamas, his hair was fluffy and his eyes content. He lay in his arms as he gently rocked him side to side humming under his breath. 

Jamie's hand was small once it was wrapped around his finger and his eyelids drooped down. Stiles placed him down in his cot once he was asleep and he watched him sleep for a short moment before leaving. He felt exhausted, his bones and muscles hurt once he finally hit the couch. His eyes fixed on the ceiling. It hadn't been painted in years, it was more of a grimy gray now and he hated it. Hated how this apartment was draining every single dollar he had. The bills and letters stuffed into a drawer that called out to him. There was that tickle in the back of his mind that reminded him how behind he was on rent and how much of an asshole his landlord was. 

Stiles swallowed hard shaking his head of the thoughts and he grabbed the remote to turn the television on. It gave him a few hours of distraction. Until he finally went to bed and snuggled down into the blankets covering it. His dreams were always the worst. Always the time when his mind reflected on his past. Times when he was a child, a teenager, school and college, when he found out he was pregnant. The fear he had felt holding that pregnancy stick in his hand, the positive sign shining in his eyes. It had scared the shit out of him. Stiles hadn't been bonded, he didn't have a mate to raise a pup with. Instead he had a bed mate every heat. Matthew Summers, his friend from college. Cheeky but kind with green eyes and brown blond hair. They had come to an agreement, see each other every three months for his heat. It was fun, it was sex, he got knotted, took his pill to stop getting pregnant and they went on their merry way.

Something went wrong one heat though and the pill didn't take. First came the dizziness, the nausea that twisted his stomach into knots until he was vomiting. It took one test to confirm his theory and one minute to tell Matthew he was pregnant. See the absolute fear explode into his eyes when he said he was keeping the baby and he didn't need to be involved. Stiles got the half-hearted stories though, the promises he would be there for him and the baby. They'd sort something out. 

To be naïve and trust him. Stiles did and Matthew stuck to his promises coming to the scans but he wasn't there. Not really. He'd spend his time drinking at weekends, partying, bringing random strangers back to his place. He'd never tell him outright but Stiles knew. Matthew abandoned him when he was eight months pregnant. He simply disappeared. His rented apartment was cleared out, his phone was off, his friends wouldn't tell him where he went and he was homeless in a sense. The apartment he had now was his only hope and with his job he could at least afford the rent back then. Stiles went into labor with Scott by his side, his hand clutched into his so he held tight and thanked him with his tears and howls. 

Stiles woke that next morning to a gentle cooing and gurgling that had him opening his eyes. Jamie was standing at his bars staring at him, he smiled hitting his hands at the white bars till he pushed the covers away.

“Good morning, monkey,” he greeted, scooping him up and out of his crib to kiss his nose. 

“Da!” he screeched.

“Yeah, that's me,” he murmured, carrying him out to the kitchen to get breakfast on and get ready. Jamie was strapped into his high chair where he slammed his hands into the plastic top and kicked his feet watching him. It was oatmeal and bananas for Jamie and coffee with three sugars for him. His eyes were on the time and he hummed spooning the sloppy stuff into his open mouth. 

“Nice, right?” he said, scraping the stray bits around his mouth away. “Can you say banana?”

“Nana,” he said, reaching for the spoon. 

“Close,” Stiles murmured. He pressed a piece of banana into his hand and smiled when he pushed it into his mouth. “Good boy.”

He seated him dressed and in front of the television before he dressed into his work uniform. He had been at Hales' Coffee's for two years now. Not the most creative name for a coffee shop but it was simple and made it's point across. They did coffee. Very good coffee actually and it was always busy. It was co-owned by Laura Hale and the infamous and mostly vacant Derek Hale. Stiles had seen him five times since he had been there and spoken two words to the guy. Not that it stopped him from crushing on him because however brooding and mysterious he was, he was ridiculously beautiful. Ridiculously. 

Jamie fussed getting into his stroller and he was pushing his phone into his pocket when someone hammered on the front door. Stiles swallowed hard pushing Jamie's pacifier back into his open mouth so he suckled contently. Opening the front door was risky business and he bit the inside of his cheek hard seeing who it was. 

“Hey, Marius,” he greeted his landlord. Marius was in his mid fifties, sweating, balding, a grimace on his lips, and a pot belly.

“I'm here to give you this,” he said, slapping a white envelope into his hand. Stiles tore it open and swallowed hard scanning it.

“You're evicting me?!” he gasped. “You can't!”

“I think I can. You already owe me two months, Stiles, I've been lenient. I have, you know I have, but next week is the third month. Do you have that?”

“I will do!” he protested. “Marius, please, I have a baby...”

“Oh and don't we all know it? Do you have any idea what it's like having that nutty lady next door screaming at you because your brat woke her up every night crying?” 

“Hey,” he protested in a hard voice. “Look, I just – I need more time. Please, I have nowhere else -”

“No more excuses. If you can get me three months rent plus...a little extra then maybe, maybe I'll let you and your brat stay but if not...you're out. You have a week.”

“I -” he said trailing off. Marius left him with nothing more than a grunt and he closed the door with a shaky hand. He couldn't get that kind of money. Banks wouldn't give him one, his dad was already struggling paying off the mortgage and old hospital bills, Scott was out the country traveling. It was a nightmare, the beginning of a very real nightmare, and he pressed a shaking hand to his mouth. Jamie made a small sound in his pram, his hands clutching the blue bear he loved so much.

“Work, nursery,” he croaked, his hands wrapping around the handles of the stroller. It was hard not to cry but he kept a strong hold on his emotions. The walk to Jamie's nursery was brisk and harsh outside and he was cold when he arrived. Heather opened the nursery door all big smiles and cheer.

“There's my favorite boy!”

“Ga!” Jamie announced, his hands reaching for her so she scooped him up. “Hey, Stiles, you okay?”

“Yeah,” he muttered, handing her the bag. “Just running late.”

“You look pale, are you sure?”

“No, yeah, I'm good, he's had his breakfast. I'll be back the usual time,” Stiles mumbled, brushing a kiss against Jamie's cheek before leaving. His mind was a heaving whirlwind of misery and thoughts and money. To be homeless with an eight month old baby would be hell on earth and he didn't know what to do. Danny was already behind the counter when he arrived, he flashed him a warm smile which Stiles returned the best he could. Danny was too nice of a person to be miserable around. He was a beta and being a beta in Stiles' opinion had to be amazing. 

“How's JJ?”

“I told you not to call him that!”

“You called him James John Stilinski. His nickname has to be JJ,” Danny protested. 

“It's Jamie and he's fine. He's at nursery.”

“So why do you smell like misery?” he questioned, cocking an eyebrow in his direction so he paused putting on his apron. Stiles hated how he saw everything, smelt everything, and he sighed deeply moving to serve the next customer. 

Laura breezed on in at lunchtime. Her hair wavy and her outfit stylish when she greeted them with a small smile before going into her office. She'd be in there for hours doing work before leaving when they did chatting on her phone. That woman never stopped and Derek Hale was no help at all. Stiles kept his head down and continued to work throughout the day because every dollar counted. Not that he could make three months rent plus a little extra. It was impossible without crippling himself financially and starving both himself and his son. His eyes closed and he hated how much of a failure he had become. How could Jamie be proud of this? Be proud of him? 

The end of the day came and all he wanted was to cuddle Jamie. Jamie' eyes flared a beautiful gold once he saw him and picked him up.

“Good as gold as usual, he really is a credit to you.”

“He always is.”

The wind was cold and whipped over his face when they walked home and he walked into his apartment with a hefty sigh. Jamie was fed and put to bed early so he could sit down and think about what he needed to do. One week and no money. Bills left to pay and a wage that didn't fit what he needed. On instinct, he ended up grabbing his phone and calling his dad.

“Hey, kiddo, late night?”

“Just a little bit,” he replied, his hands pushing away the pieces of paper. “Plus wanted to say hello and talk...for a bit. You know.”

“Everything okay?”

“Fine, everything is fine,” he lied. He didn't want to trouble him, how could he? His dad had enough to worry about without worrying about him.

“How's my grandson?”

“He's good, really good, I promise we'll come down and see you soon. I know you miss him.”

“I do, the Skype calls are good, but I'd like to see that bright smile again in person,” his dad chuckled. “So, come on, tell me about work, your life, you met anyone yet? You know I don't like you being alone.”

“Dad, I don't exactly have time to go out and date someone!” Stiles protested, a tickle of amusement making it's way up his chest. “It's not like I have a line of women and men wanting to date someone with an eight month old. Everything changes.”

“I know son, I know, but you don't have to lock yourself away forever because of Jamie. You deserve someone, someone who isn't going to abandon you...” 

“Dad, blood pressure,” he warned, his hand rubbing the bridge of his nose. His dad always got worked up talking about Matthew. His anger forever directed at him, the same old argument. What kind of man upped and left a heavily pregnant man without a word? Stiles no longer cared about him. Matthew was gone and Jamie was better off not knowing him. 

“Sorry,” his dad murmured. “Just...pisses me off. Anyway, as long as you two are okay...that is all that matters to me. Come down whenever you want, it'd be good to see you for a few days.”

“Yeah, well I have a few holidays with work so I'll tie in with Laura.” 

“Good.”

The conversation trailed off from there and he said goodnight before swiftly ending the call. His hand tossed his phone and he sat back with a heavy sigh. Robbing a bank was one of the outcomes but he couldn't handle jail. Plus Jamie would be taken away from him by the state and he'd never ever see him. It broke his heart and his wolf whined deep inside of him. No one was taking his pup away from him, not now, not ever. 

His hand was stroking his forehead when he heard the first whimper. Stiles was on his feet and in the bedroom before the tears began. Jamie wailed reaching up for him so he took him into his arms and kissed his forehead softly.

“I'm here, I'm here, it's okay,” he whispered, rocking him back and forth. Jamie soon settled with his hands fisted into his t-shirt and his eyes glassy and wide. Stiles ended up cuddling him in his bed and keeping him there. His hand stroking through his soft hair till he fell back to sleep curled in his arms. “I'm always going to be here and we're going to be fine. You and me, like always.”

*

Twenty fours was not long enough for a day and before he even knew it a week was coming up and no money. Oh he had money for one month of rent but that was not what Marius wanted. Living there had told him what a horrible landlord he was and he wouldn't accept bribery. Marius was greedy for money, just like everyone else. Stiles was on his last leg and had even packed bags up just in case the worst happened. Staying low was what he needed and he did his best to do that. Jamie seemed to sense his inner distress and was forever fretful and whiny to the point of insanity. 

It was causing him sleepless nights and it was taking it's toll. It was affecting him in work and he could see and feel Danny's worried eyes on him. It only got worse and worse and on the day of his eviction he returned home to find his stuff outside. The key would no longer work and he swallowed hard, his hands flexing around the pram. He had no idea what to do and he panicked inwardly. Jamie was asleep in his stroller and the only thought he had was to get off the streets. It was cold out there. 

His hands were shaking when he brought out his phone and dialed the only number he could think of.

“Danny? It's me, I need a favor...” he murmured.

Danny accepted it with confusion and with the few bags and one suitcase he had, he was picked up by him outside.

“Stiles, what the hell is -”

“Can we talk about this later?”

“You know I only have a one bed right?”

“Yeah, yeah, all I need is a couch for one night then tomorrow...I'll sort it out,” he said softly. Danny nodded eying him carefully before turning back around to drive them back. Jamie was in his arms still sleeping, his pacifier half hanging out of his mouth as he slept. Stiles resisted the urge to break down and cry. He held it back, he was good at that, but he knew it wasn't good for him. It was just waiting to explode. 

Danny helped him carry the bags inside and Stiles never let go of Jamie till he had to. His apartment was small but it was cozy and he sat down heavily staring forward and at nothing. 

“So, come on, what the hell man?”

“We've – we've been evicted. I was behind on my rent, landlord is a fucking asshole. Hauled all my stuff outside because I couldn't pay it. I'm...I'm homeless, Danny. I'm literally on the streets with no one to go to.”

His eyes widened momentarily before he sat next to him, his eyes grazing over Jamie's face. “You can have the couch.”

“You don't need me and Jamie here. You have your life, your boyfriend, it's too small to be long term. I'll find something, I promise.” 

Danny frowned but didn't protest. It didn't take long for Jamie to wake up from his nap hungry and Stiles made his way into Danny's kitchen feeling uncomfortable. It was hard when Jamie was so whiny but Danny saved him by taking him and distracting him.

“I have younger cousins, I know how this works,” Danny explained softly. Stiles was grateful to him and he nodded once glancing at the microwave. It was carrot and meat mashed together that Jamie ate down greedily. His son's happiness and safety was all that mattered to him. Danny was happy to play with him till the front door opened and he shot up to greet his boyfriend. Stiles watched from the couch, his hands preoccupied with Jamie playing with them. 

Danny had spoken about Ethan, he was big, muscular, every inch the predatory and protective alpha for his mate. His eyes were assessing and looked over him and Jamie. His eyes softening just a little when he looked over his pup and Danny whispered desperately at his side. Their whispering drove them to the bedroom and Stiles swallowed knowing a hissed out argument was because of him.

“...you're too fucking kind! He's out, by tomorrow, you don't need that guy's bullshit dragging us down. One night,” Ethan warned in a low voice. Stiles kissed the top of Jamie's head and fought the urge to cry again. It was getting harder and harder to repress that urge and his throat ached with the need of it. 

It was a hard night once the lights went out and he cuddled Jamie close to him. Around two in the morning he heard the distinctive signs of squeaking and low moans. He bit his lip hard listening and not listening to the sounds of Danny getting fucked desperately and hard into his mattress. It aroused him like there was no tomorrow and he squeezed his eyes shut praying for it to end. Sleep wasn't granted for him and he ended up getting an hour sleep at most. 

“You look like hell,” Danny murmured, a twisted grimace on his lips. Stiles met his eyes and looked away with a sigh come morning. He didn't answer and simply dressed Jamie in clothes from a bag and collected them together. Stiles would come back for his stuff later and he could only pray he had accommodation by the end of the day. Danny drove him to the nursery with the radio playing in the background. The kind to have happy, cheery, songs that left him feeling miserable and bitter.

No one should be that happy in the morning. No one. 

“I need you to look after him for an extra hour or two,” he pleaded with Heather. Heather adjusted Jamie on her hip, her eyes hooded in concern.

“Is everything -”

“Fine? No, not really, but you'd be making my day so much easier if you could please watch him.”

“Of course, of course, it's fine,” she murmured reassuringly. Stiles closed his eyes in relief, his lips pressing to her cheek before he headed back outside. Danny drove them to work and he carefully set the apron around his body. His head felt stuffed full of cotton wool and he swallowed the lump in his throat hard. This was no time for tears and emotions, he had to work and get on with it. The customers were barely interested and wanted their coffee and cakes which he served up. 

It was growing too much though and he felt like a ticking time bomb. Stiles was waiting to explode and it came with a particularly rude and fussy customer.

“I asked for a skinny latte! It's not that hard to make, do they let idiots work here now? Because, really, it's not that hard to make a skinny latte instead of this milky sugary bullshit!” she cried, looking around for attention which she got.

Stiles snapped. 

“Yeah, well, if you weren't so much of a stuck bitch asking for non fat, non sugar, stuck up your own ass latte that you always fucking ask for. Then we wouldn't be in this problem now, would we?!” he shouted at her. The silence in the cafe was deafening and he pressed his lips together.

“Why you little shit -” she raged but was cut off when Laura suddenly appeared and Danny dragged him away.

“What the hell?!” he hissed at him, his hand gripping his shoulder hard.

“I – I don't know, I just snapped,” he cried desperately. Danny's eyebrows were raised and he stood back when the door opened. Laura was like thunder and lightening mixed together and he was honestly frightened of her.

“Stiles, a word,” she said plainly.

He walked with her to her office. It was clean, well-kept, one desk sat in the center of the room and he took a seat. Her hair was brushed up high into a bun and her eyes spoke concern and disappointment.

“That was very poorly handled. She's now left with her order, her money, and her threats to complain to management higher than me. Which would be my uncle. You never, ever, snap at customers, Stiles, you're always so polite and adjusted. Even to the unhappy customers,” Laura said, her hands folded together in front of her.

“I'm sorry, I am so, so sorry, I just snapped, I've had a really, really, bad week and I've been locking everything up and I just,” he said, tears filling his eyes so he blinked and they spilled over.

“Stiles?” she murmured.

“Please don't fire me, I won't do it again, I need this job. I need it so bad and – and with everything going on right now...I couldn't lose my job.”

“Going on? What's happened? Is Jamie okay?” she pressed him, her eyebrows traveling up.

The tears stained his cheeks and once they started, they didn't stop.

“Jamie's fine,” he whispered, shaking his head firmly. Laura stood walking around to where he was sat and took a seat on the desk looking at him.

“What's going on?”

“I – I was evicted, I'm homeless. I have nowhere to go and nowhere to go tonight so it's a – a homeless shelter. The landlord evicted us because I was behind,” he explained brushing his hands over his cheeks. “I've been holding it all back and I'm sorry. I really am, it won't happen again.”

“You're going to live in some grubby homeless shelter with an eight month old baby?”

“Yeah, I have no other option. My dad is too far away, Scott is traveling in Greece right now, Danny had a one bedroom apartment. I don't have enough money to get a new place.”

“Stiles,” she began to protest. Stiles stood shaking his head and holding up a hand.

“I don't need the lecture, I know what I'm doing. Please, I just, am I fired?”

“No,” she said gently.

“Thanks, seriously, I promise, it won't happen again.”

Stiles left before Laura could protest and walked back in with his head held high. His eyes still stung but he ignored it to carry on like normal. Laura occasionally came out and flashed him worrying glances. On his lunch, he made a call to the shelter he knew nearby if they had any rooms. They did and it still hurt giving his details over to random woman with a kind voice. In the back of the room, he closed his eyes and held it together the best he could. His thoughts were on Jamie and how he needed to be strong for him. No one else would be. 

“Are you sure you're going to be okay? I can talk to Ethan...” Danny pleaded, his hand gripping the door once he got his things together.

“I'll be fine, you have your life, I have mine. Thanks for letting me stay, seriously, you're a good friend,” he said slapping his arm. Danny flashed him a small smile which quickly faded once he left him. 

Heather was waiting with only Jamie left as they played with farm yard animals. Stiles paused by the door and looked through the glass window watching them. His heart ached and he bit his bottom lip hard before pushing open the door.

“Hey, thanks for this,” he greeted. Jamie cried out in delight spotting him and he picked him up kissing his cheeks. 

“You're my friend and plus he's a delight. I fed him for you.”

“You did? Oh great, thanks,” he murmured, strapping him into his stroller and stroking his cheek gently with one fingers. “I'll see you tomorrow.”

Heather nodded holding open the door for him so he walked past and ignored the look of concern. Stiles collected the bags and suitcase he had hidden outside and made his way to the shelter. It really was a dismal place from the outside, his lips pressed together hard once he made his way inside and it just grew worse. No individual rooms but bunks beds filled a room of people like him. It stunk of piss and sweat that left him feeling nauseous and emotional once he was given an empty bunk. The one benefit was it was the bottom. That was the only one. 

Jamie was quiet, it was like he could notice the difference. The pout on his lips told him everything about how he was really feeling. It really was a living hell and his bunk mate was an old man who stunk of beer and old urine. It was disgusting and he closed his eyes hiding in the blankets with Jamie for company. Jamie who whimpered pressing a little hand to his face so he finally let it out. The tears slid down his cheeks and he sobbed softly holding him close. 

“I'm sorry, I'm so sorry,” he whispered, pressing wet kisses to his forehead. “I – I will make this better. I promise, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry...”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the response so far! Glad you like it.

Derek was dozing on the couch, a book in his hand, when the buzzer went startling him awake. His heart beat a little faster and he scowled pushing to stand and look at the camera. Laura smiled into it wide and waved her fingers into the camera. He sighed deeply buzzing her in and moved away to get out her favorite bottle of wine.

“Little brother,” she greeted him. Laura closed the door behind her and looked over her shoulder at him grinning before she fully faced him. “It's been nearly a week and not one single fucking phone call. I mean...what the fuck?!”

“You shouldn't swear, it's not ladylike,” he deadpanned. Derek slid the glass of white wine over to her so she huffed out a small laugh.

“Go fuck yourself,” she said, taking the glass and taking a sip. “This is my favorite wine though so you get a little credit back. But, seriously, how have you been?”

“Fine.”

“Fine? You're always fine, it's your favorite word. When really you're not and you're still wallowing in the deepest self pity I have ever known. Even Peter pities you, Peter,” she emphasized with her hands. “The sorriest sack of shit I have ever known. I know he's our uncle but god he's such an asshole.”

Derek had to smile and agree with that. He grabbed a beer and popped it open to take a large gulp before exhaling heavily.

“Is there a reason you're here or are you here to lecture me, again?” 

“I have a proposition for you. Well actually it's not for me, but for a good guy who doesn't deserve his circumstances. You're my solution,” she answered casually. Her pinkie sliding around the rim of the glass so he frowned deeply, his eyebrows raising in question.

“Do you remember Stiles Stilinski?”

“The hyperactive kid you hired ages ago?”

“Hardly a kid but yes, him, you refuse to acknowledge his existence after he spilled hot coffee all over your new leather shoes.”

Derek remembered and huffed softly drinking his beer. “What about him?”

“He has this cute little kid. His name is Jamie, if you don't remember, and he's in a sticky situation,” she murmured. “His landlord kicked him out and he's homeless.”

“Okay,” Derek replied confused. “How is that your problem?”

“Because he's a good man and he has a pup, Derek, an eight month old pup and he's living in a freaking homeless shelter. He has no one! No family, no friends, and you – you, little brother, are his solution. You have a massive apartment and it's just your lonely ass. You have two bedrooms, one fitted out for someone who doesn't even live here. He needs a place to stay, somewhere that isn't that disgusting homeless shelter.”

“No,” he said bluntly.

“Derek,” she protested, her hand slapping against the marble of his counter top.

“No, I am not letting some stranger move in here!”

“He can help out money wise...”

“You know full well I do not need help with money. We're rich, which means we're not struggling so I don't need help. I am not letting him, no way.”

“His baby -”

“How is that my problem?” he demanded, walking away from her. 

“Now that is your problem,” Laura responded coldly. Derek swallowed standing by the window to stare out and drink his beer. “You never ever make anyone else's problems yours because it is far too inconvenient and you'd rather hide from the world. Hide from the problems buried so deep inside of you...they might as well be in fucking Narnia! Stiles is a good guy, an excellent employee, struggling with a baby, debt, life, and you have a spare bedroom. I'm not asking you, I'm telling you. Do the right thing here.”

Derek didn't respond to her and she sighed deeply downing the rest of her wine. 

“Ask him, if he says no, then he says no, but it's not just him anymore. It's that pup too,” she muttered, her hand fixing over his bicep so he flinched. “You don't have to hide anymore. It's a new world, a new start, and we can't let the ghosts of our past affect us. Not anymore.”

Laura left after kissing his cheek and she left leaving behind the smell of her Chanel and white wine. Derek downed the rest of his beer and hated how it didn't hit him fully. They burned normal alcohol away too quickly then the wolfsbane version. The apartment was too quiet, it was just the way he liked it. But sometimes the silence was consuming, the kind to prickle under your skin until you had to leave. Derek saw Stiles only sometimes, when he went to the coffee shop he often saw him working or joking with a co-worker. Knew he had a little boy from the way Laura gushed about him, brought a photo or two that Stiles granted her to have. No sign of a mate or boyfriend though. 

Derek found himself deliberating and he hated that. Hated how his conclusion in the end was to find the spare set of keys and curse Laura to hell. He ended up doing it in the morning, he was sweaty after his morning jog, and chose to go the coffee shop. Stiles was the one on the counter and he looked a little worse for wear. There was a tightness to his mouth, dark shadows under his eyes, and a sadness buried deep. It was still there in his eyes and he chose that moment to appear in front of him.

“Shit! Oh! Sorry,” Stiles cried stricken. His eyes growing wide as he took him in slowly and straightened up clearing his throat.

“I'd like a word.”

“What? Um, okay, Danny!” he shouted to the back room. “Cover me, Mr Hale is here.”

Danny appeared almost immediately, his head looking between them before they walked into the office.

“If this was about the other day, I already had this with Laura. I am so freaking sorry -”

“This is not about anything to do with your conversation with Laura. I do know of your situation though,” he interrupted. That got his attention and Stiles' jaw clenched as he sat down facing him. 

“You can't fire me for being homeless.”

“I'm not firing you,” he sighed deeply. “I'm offering you a way out.”

“What?”

“I have a spare bedroom, big enough for you and your son.”

“What?!” Stiles demanded, his eyebrows raising as he looked back at him stunned. “You're asking me to live with you? I barely know you! You're my boss!”

“I know that.”

“Laura put you up to this didn't she?”

His silence only frustrated Stiles to growl, his eyes flashing a vivid gold in his fury. Derek couldn't stop the small part of him that found that attractive. Derek flashed his own eyes in retaliation, alpha red, and Stiles swallowed hard lowering his head. Omegas, so easy to submit. His mouth dried a little till he swallowed hard and brought the keys out.

“It's an offer since you're living in a homeless shelter and look like hell. It's no life and not with a pup,” he spoke softly.

“I don't need your pity,” Stiles spat back. There it was, his pride, his determination not to look weak and accept help. It was frustrating.

“I'm not offering pity. I'm offering a room.”

“Because you pity me! Oh poor Stiles, poor little Stiles losing his apartment and ending up in a shit homeless shelter,” he cried, his eyes wet and bright before he looked away.

“I'm offering help, you don't have to take it.”

“You'd just offer to me like that?”

“I'm doing my sister, who cares about you, a favor here. Plus...you have a child, Stiles, and I don't think any child deserves to stay and sleep in a homeless shelter. They're yours if you want, and if you want, I can take two hundred dollars every month out of your paycheck. Like helping for the rent and bills.”

Stiles opened and closed his mouth wordlessly, his hands wringing together uselessly. There was a slump to his shoulders and he radiated misery. This was an offer Derek knew he couldn't refuse. 

“It's not like I have any other options,” he whispered to himself. His mouth twisting a little as he looked around the office. His eyes lingering on a painting on the wall before he inhaled deeply and focused his eyes back on his. Derek could see the determination and pride shining in his eyes as he grabbed the keys and nodded once.

“Fine, take two hundred dollars, I accept.”

“Good,” he said handing him over a piece of paper with his address. “Here's the address, come around after work.”

Stiles nodded wordlessly, he stumbled a little standing up when he did. He continued to stare at him till he cleared his throat.

“Thanks for this...”

“Don't thank me, thank Laura.”

Stiles pressed his lips together, nodded once, and moved out of the office quickly. Derek scrubbed a hand down his face and said a silent goodbye to silence and being alone. Being alone was easy. Derek spent most of the afternoon out running and getting in what Stiles would need. He was waiting by the window when a knock on the door happened and he rolled his eyes heading over to open it up. 

Stiles stood outside of it nervously, his arms holding Jamie who looked just like him. He was sucking on a pacifier and seemed content to lie in his arms, next to them stood a pram, several bags, and one suitcase.

“It felt weird opening the door, like maybe after I've moved in...but, yeah. Are you still sure about this, dude? Because like you're my boss and Laura is interfering as hell. If you don't want to do this -”

Derek cut off with an impatient huff getting in his stuff for him. Stiles stared, his eyebrows raised in surprise before he stepped outside. He swore softly under his breath and looked around the apartment in awe. Derek couldn't help but preen because it was impressive. Wooden floors covered the length of his living room with a flat screen that Stiles gaped at shocked, his leather couch still intact and comfortable. 

“This here is yours,” he said, leading him into the spare bedroom fitted out with a double bed and a brand new cot for the baby. 

“You got him a cot?”

“Does he sleep with you?”

“No, no, I just – I thought I'd have to get one for him. Thanks, seriously,” Stiles muttered. Derek cleared his throat and nodded once. “My landlord kept all my other stuff so I'll have to get a high -”

“Sorted.”

“What?”

“I got one, it's still in it's box.”

“You – oh my god, okay, thanks, wow,” Stiles exclaimed. There was too much praise and he cleared his throat before stepping out. Derek grabbed a beer out of the fridge and took two gulps of it before he heard it. Little slaps of hands against the floor and he turned looking over his shoulder to see Jamie crawling on the floor. He was looking around the place taking it in as he crawled to the couch. Derek watched as he pulled himself up and looked around till he caught sight of him. Jamie murmured something behind his pacifier and his hands slapped on the couch. It was a cute sight and he smiled a moment before it died down and he turned away. 

*

Stiles' first night in the apartment went well as expected. It was awkward as hell once Jamie was finally put to bed and he unpacked his stuff. Derek's place was super nice and he couldn't help but feel that itch of intimidation at the place. Derek was rich, the whole family was, and he swallowed hard sitting on the bed in the dark. Jamie breathed in and out deeply in his brand new cot set with blankets and his teddy bear. His hands itched and he looked up when the door opened.

“Are you going to sit there all night?”

“No,” he replied quickly. Stiles followed him out and quietly closed the door over to join him in the living room. Stiles felt too awkward to watch television and instead fiddled with his fingers.

“So why don't you come to the shop anymore?”

“More important things,” Derek answered.

“Like what?” he pressed.

Derek sighed looking away from the television to meet his eyes. “Stuff, things.”

“Dude, you did not just quote The Walking Dead!” he exclaimed excitedly. Derek's lips twitched a little in amusement before he continued to ignore him and watch the television. Stiles relaxed a little after that but the sleepless nights had caught up on him and he moved to the bedroom around half ten. Jamie was sleeping curled up on his front, his breathing heavy and peaceful. That calmed him down instantly. Stiles stripped off until he was in nothing but his boxers and a t-shirt. He could faintly hear the television outside his room and he shut his eyes slowly. Sleep was easy to come by and it was only when his phone vibrated under his pillow that he woke up. 

“God,” he whispered, rolling onto his back and lifting his head to see Jamie awake and sitting in his crib. His hands tugged on his bear as he cooed and babbled to himself.

“Da!” he cried out to him. Stiles grinned feeling well rested and pushed the covers off feeling a slight chill on his legs. He pulled on sweats and hauled Jamie into his arms for breakfast. There was no sign of Derek when he got into the kitchen and saw the high chair out of it's box. 

“Well isn't he nice,” he murmured. Jamie watched him putter around the kitchen as he made oatmeal and adjusted to the splendor of this kitchen. It was unknown and so clean he wanted to cry over it. His eyes did tear up a little noticing the coffee machine and he stroked his hands tenderly over it.

“You and me, we're going to be best friends,” he whispered to it. Jamie made a small hungry sound behind him so he jumped to attention. His mouth was sticky and Stiles was halfway feeding him when Derek woke up. Derek who padded into the kitchen looking sleepy and confused, his eyes squinting at them so Stiles paused and smiled gently.

“Oh, yeah,” he murmured, clearing his throat as he grabbed the coffee pot. “Forgot.”

“I have a very forgettable face, it's okay,” he shrugged. Jamie made a reach for the spoon and giggled when he pulled it away tapping his nose. “Don't I? Look at my mucky puppy! Stay there, no moving.”

Stiles grabbed the wipes and wiped over his face so he protested and waved his hands at him till he stopped. His face was a little damp and he stared up at him disgruntled. He smirked down at him before turning to the bin and pausing to see Derek watching them. His eyes were light with amusement and Stiles raised an eyebrow at him questioningly.

“Nothing, coffee?”

“Please,” he whispered, pressing his hands together. Stiles made way with a wriggling Jamie to put him down in front of the television and put on some cartoons. His gaze was transfixed and he stared at the screen.

“He likes the bear show, it's his favorite,” he commented, his hip pressing against the counter watching Derek. Derek grunted in acknowledgment passing him a white mug full of black coffee. Stiles figured there and then that Derek Hale was not a morning person and he took a sip tasting the sugar and the coffee. It was incredible and he shut his eyes basking in it. “So, I really am grateful by the way. I know I didn't seem like it but – but my pride got in the way of that. I had a good night sleep and so did Jamie and...I owe you and Laura a massive favor one day.”

“Use my favor now, shut it,” he murmured brushing past him. Stiles smirked ducking his head and looked over to Jamie still sat on the couch watching the television. Today was his day off from the cafe and he sat down on the couch next to Jamie drinking his coffee. His eyes flickered to the television and away from time to time to watch Derek getting ready. He went in looking scruffy from sleep and came out looking like an Adonis in a tight fitting shirt and pants. God he was gorgeous and Stiles swallowed hard looking at Jamie. It really wasn't fair that he was not only his boss but also his roommate now. 

“I'm going out for the today, try not to blow this place up while I'm gone,” he said, pulling on a leather jacket and fixing him with a look. 

“I'll try plus it's November, why are you not wearing a scarf and gloves like a normal person?” he demanded. Derek rolled his eyes at him and walked away with a slam of the front door. Jamie made a soft questioning sound after and he looked down at him and smiled faintly.

“Should we go out and get you some brand new toys?! Since the mean old landlord kept them?” he exclaimed. Jamie smiled widely at his excitement and Stiles picked him up to bring him into the bedroom and change him. He was dressed warmly with his coat and a hand put on his hand once he was in his stroller. Blue tucked carefully into his arms so he smiled around his pacifier.

“Such a happy boy,” he murmured softly. 

It was an eventful day of shopping and feeling the chill of New York in the height of winter and he arrived back at the apartment full of bags. Stiles finally used his key and pushed down the sense of weirdness. He never imagined having a roommate before and had always enjoyed living alone. There was something comforting about it. Derek was in when he pushed the pram inside with the bags.

“What's this?”

“Toys, some presents, some not, but he has none and soon television won't be enough.”

“Right,” he responded slowly. Stiles ignored him in favor of getting the toys out he was allowed now and unwrapping them from their wrappings. 

“So what did do with your day? Don't give me that look, we're practically strangers, at least let me get to know my big boss man slash roommate. That's really weird by the way.”

“I had stuff to sort out, none of my employee's slash roommate's business.”

“I love it,” Stiles grinned at him amused. “Okay, fine, keep your secrets.” 

Jamie was out of his coat and hat when he got down on the floor and started to crawl. This was his time to shine and he made his way across the length of it.

“Mind watching him while I get a shower?” he questioned. Derek swallowed glancing at Jamie before nodding hard once. He exhaled in relief and headed into the bedroom to collect his towel and spare clothes to dress in. Stiles walked back out heading to the bathroom and paused at the sight of Derek sitting down on the sofa. Jamie had now made his way over to the sofa and had pulled his little self up to stand near him. His baby babble was soft when he stared up at him in slight awe. He had never been around an alpha before and pups always seemed to know the higher status. 

Stiles shook his head out of his thoughts and made his way to the bathroom. The shower was incredible and he groaned under the water pressure. Being rich had it's benefits and he sighed blissfully soaping himself up. Here he could spend his time thinking and he thought about their situation. It was still early days but he could at least feel like maybe it could go okay. He squeaky clean and feeling better once he was done and dried himself and changed before stepping out.

The sight of Derek holding Jamie in his lap stunned him. Jamie was sitting with his back pressed to his chest and Derek held one of his brand new story books. It was Cinderella and he pressed his lips together watching Derek read. 

“Who knew you liked Disney stories?” he teased.

“He put it into my lap, I couldn't – couldn't exactly refuse,” he scowled. Stiles hid a smile heading into the kitchen and listened to the soft dulcet tones of Derek reading.

“Ba!” Jamie said, slapping his hand on the page and turning his head to look at Derek. 

“He doesn't know many words, I try but he likes short words,” he explained to him as he cooked him and Jamie some dinner. “I'm making mac and cheese, you want some?”

“No, thank you.”

“You sure? I make a lot.”

“Fine.”

Stiles shook his head looking down at the creamy sauce. It was always a first response, a refusal before finally giving into what you really want. Jamie was stood in his lap, his little feet dancing as he bounced up and down. 

“Come on, monkey, stop using Derek as your dancing pole,” he said, taking him into his arms and settling him into his high chair. Derek's cheeks were flushed a little pink and he cleared his throat once or twice before moving into the kitchen with him. “I make the best mac and cheese. It's complimented, Scott loves it.”

“Scott?”

“Best friend, came here with me to New York. He's traveling. Scott got out of a long term relationship that ended badly, they fought a lot in the end. She left to go to France and broke all contact. He decided he needed to leave and go see the world. I guess heartbreak is different with everyone.”

Derek didn't say a word and simply raised his eyebrows. Stiles spooned the stuff into a bowl and slid it over to him with a smirk. He bit his lip watching when he took a bite and nodded his thanks. Jamie hummed clapping his hands when his dinner had cooled down and he could spoon it into his mouth. 

Later he held Jamie in his arms as he rocked him back and forth in the bedroom. The room illuminated in a soft orange light so it calmed him right down. His hand reached up to touch his cheek and he sucked his pacifier staring up into his eyes. Stiles saw none of Matthew, his eyes were Stiles, his nose and mouth the same. His hair was a lighter shade of his and he was practically the image of him when he was a baby.

“I love you,” he murmured against his forehead. Jamie slipped into a peaceful sleep and he placed him into the cot carefully. Derek was sat on the sofa when he left the bedroom, his hand shot out offering him a beer. Stiles took it surprised and took a seat on the opposite end. The beer felt good and he hummed looking over to him.

“So, this is kind of like our first day, well night now officially. Is there any rules? Like if you have girlfriend or boyfriend do we need to duck out so we can give you private time?” 

“No girlfriend or boyfriend, so no, and the only rules are if you make a mess, you clean it up. Don't leave your shit lying around.”

“Okay, I can live with that,” he said, his fingers stroking the bottle. “Seriously? No girlfriend?

“Why?” he snapped.

“Nothing, it's just...well come on you have a mirror!”

“I don't do relationships. They don't end well.”

“Oh come on,” he cried, twisting to face him and sit cross-legged. “All relationships are bad in their own way. You can't just say you don't do relationships!”

“I just did. Are you in a relationship?”

“Can't exactly date someone with an infant.”

“Exactly.”

“You don't have an infant though! Do you really want to be alone for the rest of your life?” Stiles demanded. He honestly didn't know why they were having this conversation, they didn't even know each other. But his absolute firmness on never having a relationship startled him. What had happened to the guy?

“Why do you care?”

“I don't, just curious as to why you've put a red stamp over relationships. I don't know about you but I miss having someone to cuddle, someone you can hold...” Stiles trailed off sensing the awkwardness. Derek's eyes were wide and he cleared his throat nervously. “Sorry, I'm just...”

He jerked his thumb over his shoulder and ran to the bedroom. It really wasn't the conversation to have with his boss. Stiles buried his head into the pillow and sighed deeply. 

“You're an idiot,” he whispered to himself. His eyes flickered to Jamie sleeping on his back, he slept like a star fish. It was best not to think about relationships and Derek together before he got ideas. Ideas he wasn't allowed to possibly think about. Stiles had never really been that lucky anyway.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The response for this is amazing! Thank you so much for reading and commenting. They make my day so much better.

“Wait, hold up, you're living with your boss?” Scott demanded, his face clear as a bell on the screen for Skype. He was currently in Dubai and the connection was shaky. Stiles rolled his eyes from where he was seated on the bed. Jamie was playing in his cot and Derek was in the living room. 

“It's temporary only! I got evicted dude, like my stuff waiting in the hallway for me. I had nothing, no one to go to since you've fucked off,” he exclaimed. Scott's shock turning into sharp guilt but he waved it off with his hand. “I ended up on Danny's couch listening to his shit head of a boyfriend fuck him. I was barely ten feet away. But Derek offered me a way out, I owe Laura everything.”

“Shit! Sorry dude, if I was there you'd know I'd take you both in.”

“Yeah? With what apartment? You sold everything to go traveling, you idiot!”

“I regret nothing,” Scott beamed. “I know the breakup was shitty but dude I've seen some amazing places! Met some incredible people and I regret nothing. It's been so awesome.”

“Happy for you,” he admitted honestly. 

“So it's really going to be okay living with him? I mean, this is Derek Hale. He doesn't like you.”

“Hey,” he protested. “It's been two weeks, a good full fourteen days, and it's been okay so far. We get on.”

It was half the truth. It was still a little awkward at times, they were getting to know each other after all. Jamie on the other hand adored him, his face would light up when Derek walked into the room and he made it his mission to crawl over to him. His little hands gripping his jeans as he pulled himself up and cooed up at him. Derek almost always held a dumbfounded look on his face before reaching down to pick him up. Stiles would hide a smile behind his fist and watch as he brought him to the couch and sat down. There was something endearing and cute about the way Derek stared at Jamie almost in awe himself. Their relationship so far was going good, theirs on the other hand could be better. It had only been a week and Stiles wasn't giving up getting a good relationship out of it. 

“I got to go man, I'm going scuba diving!”

“Good luck man, speak to you soon.”

Stiles ended the call and leaned back against the headboard rubbing a hand down his face. It was hard with him being away and the only real person he had was Danny and Danny wasn't always around. 

“Blue!” Jamie said softly from his crib. Stiles smiled at him gently and stood up to get him out of the crib and bring him outside. Jamie squealed the moment he caught sight of Derek lounging on the couch, his laptop tucked securely in place on his lap. 

“My little monster wants cuddles,” he teased, depositing Jamie on the rug. Derek frowned only for a moment before Jamie crawled up to the couch smiling at him. Stiles raised his eyebrows at him till Derek put down his laptop and reached for him.

“I don't understand why he likes me so much.”

“He likes people, he's a people person I reckon, plus you're an alpha,” Stiles suggested with a shrug of his shoulders. “Isn't really so surprising?”

“Babies, pups, children, they don't tend to like me very much,” he muttered, eying Jamie when he grabbed his hands to squeeze and play with. “I don't really know them.”

“Know them? He's a pup! Likes his teddy bear and pasta with cheese sauce. He gets grumpy without a nap and likes when I read to him at night. He gets this look on his face and stares at me like I'm God,” Stiles cried, grabbing a can of soda out of the fridge. “Not much to understand, he's not going to hurt you. You're not going to hurt him.” 

“I'd never hurt him.”

Stiles smiled softly taking a seat and popping the tab open to take a sip. “Never believed you would anyway.”

“Who were you talking to in there?” Derek questioned after a moment of silence.

“Oh, just Scott, he's in Dubai and he's browner than ever and he's happy. Really happy and going scuba diving apparently. I'm glad he's happy and I'm glad he's okay. Because that's it at the end of the day.”

“Why didn't you go with him?”

“Why do you think?” he said, nodding at Jamie currently standing in Derek's lap, his hands in Derek's as he held him up. “He was only two months old. Scott was there during the labor, I broke his hand during it.”

Derek raised his eyebrows at him surprised. Stiles smirked into his can remembering it. “It was horrible, I was screaming for the drugs and I had to hold onto his hand and well. It healed in no time but I remember the crack and Scott's face paling.”

“Is it difficult?”

“Hm?”

“Raising him, on your own,” Derek said gently. Stiles was surprised by the question and he shifted to lie back and relax before answering.

“Yeah, but it's not without reward. I was scared when I first found out I was pregnant. It was a mistake and I wanted to keep him. Then he was born and I was on my own. This tiny little pup, no bigger then my hand completely dependent on me. Jamie was and he still is hard work sometimes but it's got it's rewards. Watching him smile, laugh, crawl, watch me when I'm doing something he doesn't understand. I wouldn't change it or him for the world.”

Derek looked like he had more to say but simply nodded, his head turning back to Jamie now sat down in his lap looking tired. Stiles leaned over slipping his pacifier into his mouth and grabbed the remote control to watch some television. It was a crime show that got his attention and he was twenty minutes into the murder of a young women when Derek hissed his name urgently.

It was certainly a sight to see his baby curled into Derek's stomach sleeping. His hand fisted into his top as he breathed in and out deeply.

“What?” he mouthed amused. “It's okay!”

The stricken look faded slowly as he stared down at Jamie sleeping every now and again. Stiles hid his smile concentrating on the television instead of them two. Derek didn't budge at all, his hands gently held Jamie and out of the corner of his eyes he could see him looking. His eyes darting around the room, to the television, to Jamie still sleeping and snuffling in his sleep. There was a certain tightness to his eyes that made him reconsider as he moved to get him.

“Here, I'll take -”

“No, it's fine,” Derek interrupted shaking his head.

“You sure? You don't have to hold him, I'll put him down in his crib...”

“It's fine, Stiles.”

“Okay,” he mumbled, holding up his hands with a small smile. “I'm going to head out, I need to get more diapers and some more groceries for us. Do you mind watching him for half an hour?”

“Just me...and him?” he murmured, eyes wide with fear. Stiles bit back laughter and nodded. 

“If not, I'll take him. But the most he'll do is wake up, cry a little, if he wants something to eat give him a cookie to suck on. Put the television on and you're sorted,” Stiles rationalized. Derek inhaled deeply and nodded once. It was something and he stood getting his things together and his coat on before leaving. He ducked down pressing a kiss to Jamie's warm and cheek and rose meeting Derek's eyes. There was something hidden in the green depths of them and he swallowed the lump in his throat before straightening up. 

“Half an hours tops,” he called over his shoulder before shutting it behind him with a small grin.

*

To say he was scared would be an understatement. Derek didn't do well with pups, they were clingy, they drooled, screamed, pooped and pissed on you if they could. In the weeks they had lived here, Jamie hadn't been that bad. Oh he had his grumpy moods and cried and kicked out at Stiles when he was tired. He only woke up occasionally in the night, Derek would listen to Stiles humming a song under his breath giving him warm milk to sleep. Sometimes he'd come home to his living room bombed out with toys and Stiles not caring as he laid out on the couch grinning at him. It was just something to get used to.

This scared him though and he looked down at Jamie. His lashes dark and long closed and he sucked on his pacifier contently. It was a situation he didn't account to being in and he shifted as gingerly as he could to get in a better position. It resulted in jostling him and Jamie's eyelids fluttering at the movement. Derek hissed air through his teeth staring down at him, Jamie sniffed deeply and his eyes opened suddenly and alert.

“Da,” he murmured around his pacifier. Derek bit his lip hard moving his hands when Jamie adjusted to looking around. He knew what it was, Jamie couldn't smell Stiles' scent and knew something was amiss. His bottom lip pushed out and tears formed in his eyes as he stared up at Derek who _panicked._

“Hey, hey, no, it's okay, shush,” he murmured, bringing him to his shoulder and rubbing his back gently as he sniffed and whimpered. “He's just gone out, it's okay, here let's put on cartoons.”

Derek desperately turned into on cartoons and turned the volume up rubbing his back. Jamie settled his head on his shoulder with a soft whimper, his hands curled into the collar of his top. He wasn't interested in the television and chose to remain tucked against his neck. His breaths small and damp against his neck. Derek headed into the kitchen getting out a cookie with his free hand and adjusting to hand it to Jamie who looked at it.

“No,” he muttered. 

“Juice?” 

“Ju-cee,” Jamie repeated. His head went back to his shoulder and Derek felt a deep ache form in his chest. It wasn't an ache he had felt before and he swallowed reflexively and headed to the fridge. The orange juice was poured into his cup and he eased it into his hands before taking him back. His eyes were no longer wet and he settled against his chest drinking and watching cartoons. 

What was supposed to be terrifying and hard work was not in the end. Once Jamie finished his juice, he climbed out of his lap, crawled to his books, selected one, and fell onto his bottom to look at him. Eyes big and brown as he gestured and babbled in baby speech at him. 

“Want me to read it? Okay, come on,” he said, picking him up and bringing him back to the couch. Jamie cooed looking up at him with adoring eyes once they got comfortable and he could feel his cheeks heat up. No one looked at him like that and especially not an innocent like a baby.

“The Ugly Duckling,” he read out loud. “Once upon a time down on an old farm, lived a duck family, and Mother Duck had been sitting on a clutch of new eggs...”

It was forty five minutes before Stiles returned and he was rubbing a tired Jamie's back carefully up and down.

“Sorry! I was caught up in the traffic and I -” he cut off at the sight of them. His eyes widening and the hint of a smile on his face when he walked slowly towards them. “How did you do?”

“Better than I thought,” Derek admitted honestly. “He woke up when you left and we read stories until he got bored.”

“Oh,” Stiles murmured surprised. He knelt down next to him and gently stroked the back of his hair. Jamie lifted his head and murmured something unintelligible around his pacifier reaching for him. “How's my puppy doing? Have you been good for Derek?” 

“Dada,” Jamie smiled, his hand touching Stiles' cheek. Derek bit his lip hard forcing down the beaming smile that wanted to come bursting out. Stiles grinned, kissing his nose and brought him with him to unpack the groceries. He could smell the affection, see the love between son and father and the deep ache in his chest fluttered. It was giving him a headache he couldn't achieve and he ended up grabbing his jacket to get the hell out of there. Laura was his go to when he buzzed her apartment and got into the elevator to her floor.

“You look glum.”

“Screw you,” he answered, shrugging his jacket off. “I also hate you for making me invite Stiles and Jamie into my home.”

“Oh, have they done something?”

“No! That's the problem.”

Laura paused raising her eyebrows at him as he flung himself down onto the couch. “What the fuck are you going on about?”

“Them! Jamie! Everything, I shouldn't feel...” he said slowly and trailed off with a shake of his head. Laura hissed flapping her hands and jumping as she sat down on the couch facing him.

“Holy shit! You have feelings for him!”

“No, no, I don't,” he protested. 

“You do, you so do, oh you lie and those eyebrows grow bigger. Like Pinocchio, only much hairier. You like him and you mentioned Jamie, are those paternal feelings kicking in?”

“Fuck off!”

“They are!” she cried, throwing out her hands gleefully. “Oh my god, I'm a matchmaker and I didn't even know it!”

“It's only been two weeks,” he protested. Laura shrugged her shoulders up and down, her lips formed into a big pleased smile. “He's good company and I like his son. Doesn't mean I'm falling in love with him.”

“You deserve happiness. You do, don't look at me like that, Derek, because you do and not everyone you date is going to be a murdering psychopathic whore bag.”

“Thanks,” he responded in a dry tone. 

“I'm serious, you never know, you could get something amazing,” she whispered, her hands pressing to her mouth happily. 

“Can we not talk about it and can you feed me instead?” Derek murmured. Laura huffed rolling her eyes at him but did so heading into her kitchen. She made him chicken and chips and he loved her a little more. Here it was easy but she soon chucked him out so she could have a bath and he returned home.

“Hey,” Stiles greeted him. He was sitting with a can of coca cola in his hand, his feet resting on the table and his attention on the television. Jamie was down in his crib and he shrugged off his jacket. 

“Where did you head out to?”

“Laura's.”

“Oh, right. Well thank you for minding him before, I was panicking,” Stiles admitted. Derek looked over his shoulder and caught the grin directed at him.

“Why?”

“I left you looking like a petrified cat! I come back to peace and calm. It was remarkable. I was worried I'd come home to you bald from ripping your hair out, Jamie screaming the house down. I should have had more faith. Despite you not liking pups.”

“I like pups, just...certain pups,” Derek argued. 

“Like Jamie?”

“Yes,” he muttered, turning his head back to the sink to pour a glass of water. Stiles hummed and didn't speak any further. 

“I wanted to talk to you anyway, about an upcoming holiday,” Stiles said once he joined him. Derek raised his eyebrows and groaned when Stiles hummed 'We Wish you a Merry Christmas” at him. “Yes, Christmas! What are you doing?”

“Like I do every year, I get drunk with Laura.”

“What?” Stiles cried scandalized. “Is that seriously all you do!?”

“We exchange presents, we get very drunk and order takeaway. Well from a takeaway which is open on Christmas Day.”

“No,” Stiles hissed, hands slapping to his face. “Okay, okay, I know we've only been living together for a couple of weeks but technically we've sort of known each other for three years. I've known Laura for three years and I can't let this happen! You're coming with me to my dad's.”

“Stiles, no, we can't.”

“Derek, yes, you can. My dad will be fine with it! It used to be us two then Jamie came along and it made the house a little livelier. He knows about you two, I moan about my bosses who overwork me all the time,” he snarked, his smile cheeky when he looked over and rolled his eyes. “You're coming. I'll bring Laura and you'll have to come or be depressed and like the...Grinch! No one wants to be the Grinch.”

“I want to be the Grinch.”

“Tough shit.”

“I'll sack you.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Stiles muttered, nudging him hard in the ribs so he grunted shaking his head. It was left like that and Derek didn't know what to think. It was always the same, every year they got stupid drunk, ate bad food, and forgot it was Christmas. 

Laura though was too enthusiastic when he asked and she immediately accepted.

“Your dad will be okay about it?”

“Sure.”

Derek held back his deep groan and accepted it for what it is. The days passed and the it grew colder, the streets busier as people shopped and he hated it. Hated the crowds, the noise, the Christmas songs playing in every single shop he went into. He'd come home to Stiles in the living room surrounded by Christmas presents and wrapping them. It was a week before Christmas that it finally snowed in New York.

“Oh my god!” Stiles screeched like he was ten years old. It was in the morning and Derek closed his eyes around his cup of coffee hearing him come out. There was an excited sheen to his eyes and Jamie was in his arms confused. “This is the first snow he's ever seen! I need to get him dressed!”

“It's snow, it's cold, wet, and annoying.”

“Oh my god, can you sound any more like a Scrooge? Come out with us!”

Derek got dressed and shoved a hat on his head as they went outside and Stiles shown Jamie snow for the first time. His eyes were wide as he looked around, his hand reaching for the snowflakes still falling to the sidewalk. He looked at his hand and back at Stiles who grinned kissing his pink nose. Derek stood watching Stiles hold Jamie's hands in his as he gently walked him on the snow.

“Dada!” Jamie screeched excitedly. It was an adorable sight and Stiles looked up meeting his eyes from across the sidewalk highly amused. The ache in his chest flared watching them and he smiled gently back in return hating how confused and blown over he felt.

*

Christmas came a lot quicker than he anticipated when they boarded a plane to California. It was hectic and stressful and he was glad to be on the ground once they arrived. The airport was bustling with people and Laura was singing Christmas songs loudly down his ear.

“If you don't shut up, I'm going to kill you,” he hissed at her.

“Oh such a drama queen! It's Christmas Eve! We're in California!” she cried, her arms out when she spun in a circle and Stiles snorted his laughter. Jamie was asleep in his arms and Derek pulled their suitcases along. 

“Dad!” Stiles shouted. He waved his free hand to the man currently waiting in the lobby. His face lightening up when he spotted them and walked over.

“Oh god it's good to see you son,” he greeted hugging him and being mindful of Jamie. “Hasn't he grown...”

“He's tuckered out, flying hasn't agreed with him at all.”

“Well we've got a whole day tomorrow,” he said, his hand gently stroking Jamie's hair before he focused on them two. “You must be the Hales, it's nice to meet you.”

“You too, sir, thank you for having us,” he replied politely shaking his hand. Laura leaned in kissing his cheek and he pulled flushing a little before clearing his throat with a cough.

“John, please, right well let's get you lot back home.”

Stiles nudged his arm as they walked together and Laura talked with John ahead of them.

“You look like you'd rather be in a coma than here.”

“No, just not used to this,” he answered as honestly as he could. “Christmas, it's...not been the same in years.”

“Well, a Stilinski Christmas might change that,” Stiles grinned at him. He rolled his eyes but didn't respond to it as they got into the Sheriff's car. Laura was the one who did most of the talking, talking about Stiles, her job, New York, and to his disgust she was flirting with him. If only a little. Stiles didn't seem to notice or care sitting next to him, his hand rubbing up and down Jamie's back gently as he slept on. 

Derek looked out of the window looking up at the house when they arrived. It was nice from the outside and Stiles beside him let out a soft sigh of relief.

“It's good to be home, so to speak,” he murmured.

Inside it smelled of whiskey, old leather, and fake pine from the Christmas tree stood in the corner. Stiles smiled seeing it and Derek tried not to feel awkward stood in a strangers home. 

“Home sweet home,” Stiles murmured into Jamie's hair before walking into the kitchen with his dad.

“Lighten up, I think this is the first Christmas I won't wake up dying from a hangover,” Laura murmured. Derek hauled their suitcase upstairs to the rooms. Laura was having her own and Derek was sharing with Stiles and Jamie. 

“Just feels...”

“Different? Yeah, I know, but it's better.”

Derek had no argument there and he simply ate when they did and drank surprisingly good eggnog before heading to bed. 

“I can take the floor...” he offered.

“Shut up and get into the bed. We're adults, not teenagers,” Stiles hissed at him. Jamie was laid in the middle of the double bed still sleeping. Derek shrugged his shoulders and yanked off his t-shirt and pulled on a pair of joggers. Stiles was pointedly not looking in his direction and there was a stilted air of silence between them. 

“Thanks, you know, for coming, I know you don't want to be here really. I just couldn't imagine leaving you alone,” Stiles murmured once the lights were out. Derek lay on his back staring at the ceiling. Jamie in between them and more tucked against Stiles. 

“I would have got drunk and felt guilty. Laura's right...this is better,” he admitted, turning his head to meet his eyes. Stiles smiled sadly before tucking his head against the pillow and shutting his eyes. 

Getting to sleep was a lot harder than he imagined with two other people in the bed. Derek somehow managed to get a couple of hours and woke up in the morning feeling pressure on his chest. It was a warm weight that had his eyes opening from where he was laid out on his back. Laying on his chest was Jamie asleep. Somehow crawling and making his way throughout the night to curl asleep on his chest, his hand pressing to his skin as he breathed. Stiles lay sleeping next to him, his breath warm and controlled against his bare shoulder and Derek nearly had a panic attack. Because this was a whole lot intimate and domestic and it was Christmas morning. His fingers itched and he stroked the top of Jamie's hair slowly and carefully. Derek flicked his eyes to Stiles still sleeping, his lashes brushing his cheeks, his lips parted as he breathed deeply in and out. It was so warm and the ache in his chest bloomed outwards like a fire. 

“I'm fucked,” he whispered, his eyes closing, his teeth biting into his bottom lip hard.

“I am so fucked.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bring on the conflicting, confusing feelings and angst angst angst.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for commenting and reading! I'm so glad you all like it. :)

Christmas morning was how it was pictured in his mind. With the added bonus of Derek and Laura being there and Jamie who had much more fun with the paper than his actual presents. It made him happy to open presents with him, watching Jamie's face light up when he saw the gifts. His hands touching him as he squealed and pressed a brand new book into his hands for him to read. His eyes flashed gold at him so he responded with a flash of his own. It showed his happiness, his pure delight of what was happening around him. Stiles knew it made his dad happy when he looked up to see him sitting forward in his chair to watch Jamie unwrap his. Laura was unwrapping one of the many from Derek and she cooed slapping Derek's arm hard.

“Chanel, you shouldn't have,” she kissed his cheek. Derek grunted brushing her away, a small smile on his lips, his eyes were fixed on hers before they flicked back towards him and Jamie. They were the stars of this show it seemed and he opened his own presents afterward. They were the usual stuff anyway. Clothes, aftershave, DVD's, and the odd horrible jumper from an aunt who lived in Australia. 

“You're cooking dinner?”

“I always cook dinner,” his dad said smugly.

“No, you burn it, then you call it dinner.”

“Not this time, Melissa is helping me.”

“Oh she's coming over?!” Stiles cried excitedly. “Shame Scott isn't here...” 

His dad raised his eyebrows at him before heading into the kitchen followed by Laura asking about herbs for the turkey. Derek sat on the couch turning the Game of Thrones books in his hands thoughtfully. 

“Thanks, you didn't have to,” he said softly. Stiles snorted glancing over at Jamie playing with his toys and shrugged his shoulders carefree.

“Of course I did. I know how much you love reading and those books are too good to be true so...” he gestured with a small smile. “Plus, I'm loving the aftershave dude.”

“You're welcome.”

“Plus Jamie loves his books!” he grinned. Derek rolled his eyes, a small smile on his lips when he did it so it was all playfully good. 

The house was soon filled with the rich and warm smells of home cooking and Stiles sat on the floor reading his books to Jamie. Derek was tucked into the corner of the couch, head buried into the first Game of Thrones book. Laura was in the kitchen helping his dad cook. It felt like Christmas, it seeped under his skin and into his bones warming him from head to toe. He loved it, he really did love it.

“Stiles, Derek, come in here a moment,” Laura shouted disturbing the peace. Derek dropped his book onto his chest frowning and Stiles left Jamie sat on the floor while they walked in together.

“Ah,” Laura cried once they reached the doorway and paused confused. “Stop right there, perfect, now look up!”

They stood under the archway of the door together and looked up to see mistletoe. Mistletoe of all things lay taped against the door frame and he frowned at it before it dawned on him. Derek was pale, paler than usual, his eyes steaming and tinted red around the edges glaring at Laura who grinned in return.

“Come on! It's tradition!”

“When did my dad get mistletoe?” he mumbled confused. His dad was nowhere to be seen and he swallowed hard glancing at Derek. Could he kiss him without having a heart attack right there and then. The thought of kissing him sent his heart into overdrive. Stiles wanted to drag his hands through that hair and slam him hard against the wall. The thought alone was enough to drive him crazy and he imagined a freezing cold shower. 

“Don't be children!” Laura scolded, hands on her hips. 

Derek turned his head meeting his eyes and Stiles exhaled harshly internally thinking “fuck it” and reached for him. His hands cupped the sides of his neck to kiss him hard. It was a brief brush of their lips that sent a spark of electricity down his spine. It felt good, his hands were warm against the sides of his neck, and he pulled apart staring at Derek who stared back stunned and a little horrified. Their faces were inches apart and Stiles could feel the warmth of his breath against his lips. Stiles glanced down feeling pressure from the hands resting against his hips. 

“Oh wow,” Laura murmured, glancing between them. Stiles dropped his hands quickly and stepped back feeling stupid and foolish as he licked his lips and retreated into the living room. Jamie was still sitting in the place he left him and he sat rubbing a hand through his hair. There was some hushed words coming from the kitchen and Derek soon came back out looking flushed and quiet. He returned to his book and slumped back onto the couch. Nothing was spoken but Stiles could feel the tension bubbling between them. 

It only got easier when the doorbell went and he hoisted him up onto his hip to answer it. What he didn't expect was to see Scott grinning at him.

“Oh my god,” he shouted excitedly. Melissa swooped in stealing Jamie from him quickly as they threw themselves into a tight hug. Scott smelt like aftershave and sunshine when he inhaled deeply and clung to him laughing.

“Why didn't you tell me you were back?!” he cried, his fist thumping against his back before he stepped back and eyed him up and down. 

“Would have ruined the surprise, dude! It's so good to see you!”

“You too,” he murmured. Stiles pulled away shaking his head at him in disbelief. His hand cupped his shoulder dragging him in and Scott made a beeline for Jamie.

“Cott!” Jamie cried, hands reaching for him from Melissa's lap.

“He knows his name?” Derek asked stunned. His eyes darting between them, his hands clenched on his thighs.

“Yeah, man, he's been there for since he was seven pounds and screaming in my arms.”

“Oh, you must be Derek,” Scott said, jiggling Jamie who babbled at him. “Nice to put a name to a face and obviously meet you of course.”

“You too,” Derek replied stiffly. Stiles frowned at him confused but let it slide once his dad walked in announcing dinner was nearly ready. Jamie smiled at Scott adoringly, his hands fisted in his top as they walked into the kitchen. Laura took a seat next to Derek and met his eyes, her eyebrow raised as they spoke with their eyes. Stiles didn't know what to think of it and cleared his throat taking a seat next to Jamie's high chair.

“So, Scott, how was your travels?” his dad said once they were seated. Stiles listened as he watched Jamie feed himself using both hands and his fork. It was an endearing sight and he couldn't help but feel eyes on him. Derek was watching them both and he raised his eyebrows at him questioningly till he looked away. He didn't look their way again throughout the dinner and Stiles couldn't help but feel a little than more confused by that. It was a nice dinner if anything but Stiles was relived when the day finally ended. Scott and Melissa had taken off back home to spend more time together, his dad was fast asleep in his chair, a tumbler of whiskey in his hands while Laura drank wine. 

There was nothing more comfortable then his bed and he placed Jamie down in the sheets before slipping in beside him. Derek was silent as he undressed and Stiles did his best not to look at the skin out of the corner of his eye.

“You're awfully quiet,” he murmured.

“What?”

“You've been weird, Derek, ever since I kissed you under the mistletoe. I'm sorry, okay? I know that was bordering a hazardous line but it's...only tradition.”

“It's,” Derek murmured, turning his head to look at him. “It's not about the kiss.”

“Then what is it?”

“Nothing.”

“Bullshit!” he hissed. “Come on, Derek, what's going on?”

“Go to sleep, Stiles,” Derek dismissed turning and giving him his back. Stiles swallowed hard, eyes flicking up to the ceiling feeling concerned. Sleep wasn't the easiest and he tossed and turned far too aware of Jamie and Derek beside him. He woke up at dawn to Jamie awake and chewing on his fist. His cheeks were rosy red and it meant his teeth were coming through. Derek was sleeping on his back, deep breaths in and out of his nose. 

“Come on,” he whispered picking Jamie out of bed. 

“Dada,” Jamie murmured. “Bot!”

Stiles knew he wanted milk and he headed down seating him on the couch before heading into the kitchen. 

“Oh, fuck!” Stiles hissed noticing Laura sat there smirking. His hand clutching over his heart in a panic. “What the hell are you doing up? It's half six in the morning.”

“Had a bad night, too much egg nog...or wine...or both,” she whispered. Stiles rolled his eyes pouring milk into his bottle and returning to Jamie to put it into his hands. He turned the television onto morning cartoons and returned back to Laura still sitting there.

“You look like you had a bad night too.”

“Too many things on my mind.”

“Like?” she prompted, her hands wrapped around a cup of coffee. Stiles stared down at his hands and shrugged his shoulders gently. 

“Nothing useful.”

“Thinking about my brother?” Laura pressed, her eyebrows raising when he looked up at her startled. “Oh come on, I've known you for three years now. I know about that big crush on my little brother.”

“I'm not doing this.”

“Why?”

“Because,” Stiles cried, throwing a hand out to her to gesture his point. “It's irrelevant now. He's not only one of my bosses, he's also my roommate. You don't do that, you don't go there.”

“Says who?” she demanded.

“Everyone. There's a line you do not cross, we have a line, it's there, it's flaring red, and we can't cross it. We can't. I like him, I do. I like him as a friend and a boss and – and maybe a little more but it's nothing. Anyway, he doesn't like me like that.”

“How do you know?”

“Women. He likes women, he's straight! Has he ever been with a guy?”

Laura snorted bringing her coffee up to her lips to take a sip before answering him. “I don't exactly demand the intel on my little brother's sex life. I don't know if he's dated men, fucked men, I'm not to sure. But we live in a world were bisexual is a word and not a trend.”

“Well even if he is or he isn't...I know he doesn't like me like that.”

“How?”

“I just do, end of discussion,” he mumbled, waving a hand in dismal. “We're not talking about it anymore.”

Laura's mouth twisted and her eyes flared red before she sat back shrugging her shoulders. Stiles swallowed noticing that and twisted his hands together.

“Hey, can I ask a question?”

“Shoot,” she murmured around the cup before slurping it. 

“Your eyes, you and Derek, you're both alphas. How does that work?”

Laura's eye tightened only a little before she straightened up and sat forward. “I was born an alpha. From the get go my eyes were flashing red and it was in my blood to be an alpha. Derek was born a beta, he was fine with that. Beta's have it easier than us anyway. But then time went on, stuff happened, our parents died. The power has to go somewhere. It didn't die with my mom, it went straight to Derek. Derek knew the moment she died, knew it when he was on his knees howling in the middle of the street.”

“Shit,” Stiles breathed. Laura nodded slowly, taking a sip of her coffee. 

“Dada...” Jamie called, hands thudding against the carpet when he crawled into the kitchen and sat on his bum looking at them. Laura cooed at him behind her hand.

“Oh he's just so sweet! Those big brown eyes and cheeky grin, you'll break hearts. Yes you will,” Laura whispered, hands reaching for him when he grinned and laughed up at her. “I'm going to steal him, he's mine now.”

“You can have Wednesday and Friday of every week,” Stiles replied amused. Laura kissed both his cheeks before rubbing her nose against his so he squealed in delight. Stiles smiled at them both amused and looked up when he heard two feet hit the floor. He listened to the gentle footsteps of someone who wasn't his dad and turned his head to Derek. Derek was bare chested, wearing nothing but sweats and looking grumpy. It was an endearing sight if anything and Stiles found himself staring and gaping.

“Morning,” Laura announced with a grin. Her eyes flicking between them before she focused on Jamie now standing in her lap straining towards Derek. Derek's eyes went wide he noticed and he exchanged a glance with him for assurance. 

“He wants you.”

Jamie kicked out impatiently that he was being ignored by Derek who grunted reaching for him. His hands slapped against his chest and he sucked on his fist resting there.

“Oh it's too cute,” Laura breathed watching them. Derek frowned ignoring her as he poured a coffee and stirred a sugar into it with one hand. “So cute. I want to cry.” 

Stiles smirked into his hand as she rambled about her little cousins and Derek's attitude towards them. His eyes were trained on Derek leaning against the counter drinking coffee and watching Jamie. His heart fluttered in his chest at the sight and the butterflies in his stomach exploded like a bomb inside of him. It left him unable to breathe properly and to speak as he watched them and imagined a world were things could be different. 

*  
Derek breathed steadily in and out of his mouth as he ran down the sidewalk. It was half six in the morning and already he could feel the burn. The air was icy cool and it stung his skin only a little as he raced down the empty street. The bonus of winter and the early morning meant no one was around. It left him with his thoughts. It was the middle of January now and it had been a confusing couple of weeks since Christmas. What didn't help was the fact all he could replay in his mind was that _kiss._ Nothing more than a brush of their lips but in that moment he craved more. His body pressed against his, his fingers in his face, his lips tasting everything Stiles had to give him and more. It was a constant ticking bomb inside of his mind. 

Stiles never seemed to notice his troubles and conflicting feelings. He went to work, dropped Jamie off at nursery, came back and did it all over again. The same routine with the odd interval of people popping in and out of his life. Danny was one of them and mostly Scott. Scott who Jamie and Stiles both adored and he liked to come around and hang out. The bubbling tension and twisting of the gut was not jealously, he refused to be jealous of someone who had been there all their lives. Especially Jamie's. 

It still happened though and he still watched with hooded eyes while Scott tossed Jamie in the air so he giggled cuddling up to him in delight. It burned inside of him like a black poison in his veins but he never commented on it. How could he? So he kept his silence and simply watched from the sidelines. He did it at Christmas and at New Year when they went to Laura's to celebrate it. Derek had woken up with a hangover and a grumpy Jamie screaming the place down. It wasn't pretty. 

Derek was sweating and pumped out by the time he returned at half seven to find Stiles and Jamie already up. Jamie was tucked into the corner of the couch drinking milk and watching a DVD. Stiles was eating toast next to him, his eyes brightening if only a little when he stepped through the door.

“I got you out a coffee and water. Figured you went running.”

“Thanks,” he murmured, snatching the water bottle and gulping it down. 

“How you can go running in this weather is beyond me. It's freezing out there!” Stiles cried. 

“Keeps me fit, you should try it,” he answered. Stiles pulled a face munching the last of his toast before he stood to get his morning coffee. “What are you doing today?”

“Well, it's a Saturday, I don't have work, Jamie doesn't have nursery. So we both have it free and have nothing to do! Scott's traveling to see an old friend from college. Danny is with his boyfriend so that's a no show. I have a free day. What are you doing?”

“Gym, I think,” he muttered.

“Let's do something!” Stiles cried, his hand slapping his shoulder so he looked at it and met his eyes. “Oh come on, I can't stay all day inside. I'll go crazy. Plus it's boring. We can go the park or the museum! I've been wanting to take him to the museum.”

“Fine,” he mumbled.

“Really?” Stiles grinned. “Jamie, we're going to the museum! He'll love it.”

Derek rolled his eyes but hid a small smile into his cup as Stiles talked at Jamie who was staring at him unamused. It was clear Jamie was grumpy and teething from his rosy cheeks and his pout while Stiles got him dressed.

“No!” he shouted trying to crawl away when Stiles was stuffing him into a coat.

“Do you want to freeze to death? Because it'll happen. Here,” Stiles argued, slipping his pacifier into his mouth. “Shush.”

“No,” Jamie mumbled around his pacifier, his hand reaching up to tug his hat off and throw it away. Stiles inhaled deeply shaking his head and Derek pressed his lips together to fight back that little bubble of laughter. He could sense Stiles' annoyance though and stood back watching as he put it back on his head and Jamie tossed it.

“Jamie!”

“No!”

“Stiles, let me,” he murmured meeting his eyes. He retrieved the soft wool hat and Stiles stood back holding up his hands and moved into the bedroom. 

“Hey,” he muttered, kneeling down in front of the car seat. Jamie looked at him and sniffed hands reaching for him. “No, you've got to be a good boy. We're going outside and it's cold. Cold against your ears...”

Derek gently tickled them so he smiled at him around his pacifier. “So you've got to wear your hat and be a very good boy for dada.”

Derek slipped the hat on his head, Jamie grabbing his hand and squeezing it gently.

“Da...” he murmured, staring at him, his eyes big and brown and never ending. Derek can't breathe, his stomach is in knots, his heart beating hard against his breastbone. Those words were for him, not Stiles who was still in the bedroom getting on his coat. 

“You do it?” Stiles called so he jumped and pulled back nodding. Jamie sucked on his pacifier and held onto Blue who was tucked into his side. “You're a life savior.”

Derek cleared the lump in his throat tugging on his winter coat and gloves before they got ready to go. Stiles grabbed the car seat and carried it down to the car were they would drive to the American Museum of Natural History. They put his stroller in the back and he flexed his hands around the steering wheel. He had to keep a cool head about this. 

“I haven't been here in years. One of the places Scott and I came to when we first arrived. Googled where to go and what to do. This was on there, it's an awesome place,” Stiles said gently. “You ever been?”

“No.”

“Seriously, well this is not only for Jamie, it's for you!” 

Derek huffed amused and kept his eyes on the road. When they arrived, Stiles was buzzed and excited getting Jamie out of the car and into his stroller. Jamie was still looking a little disgruntled and clutched onto his teddy bear staring up at Stiles. 

“He's a moody ass,” Stiles grumbled. “When he's the one who's teething and kept me up all night because every time I put him down he'd cry and whinge and fuss till I picked him up.”

“Oh you think you're the only one?”

“Oh, shit, have we been keeping you up?!” Stiles hissed as they walked inside to pay.

“No, I invested in some ear plugs.” 

“You should have just told me, I'm sorry we're keeping you up,” Stiles mumbled, his mouth twisted into a guilty frown. Derek sighed paying for their tickets despite his muted protests and they walked in together. 

“You have a baby, Stiles, I didn't expect him to be quiet and docile all the time.”

Stiles huffed adjusting his grip on the stroller, his eyes scanning the crowd and the display boards. “But it's still your home.”

“Yeah, but it's not just mine anymore, is it?”

Stiles was quiet beside him and he dared a look to see a softness around the eyes. Something hidden and warm when he looked over and met his. They no longer spoke and instead went around the exhibits. Stopping to get Jamie out of his stroller and show him the old dinosaur bones. His eyes wide as he looked at them and reached out wanting to touch them. Stiles had been right about it being an experience for the both of them. To watch from a distance when Stiles introduced Jamie to the nature of everything. Jamie's mood slipped into something better than before and for that he got an ice cream.

“He likes vanilla best,” Stiles said distractedly once they found a bench. “I like mint choc chip. What about you?”

“Strawberry.”

“Oh we're all a mixed bunch here,” Stiles cried, a happy smile on his face as he fed Jamie the ice cream on a spoon. “Will we ever find a common ground?! Tune in next week.”

“You're an idiot.”

“Yeah, I am that, but I'm also hilarious!” 

“Keep telling yourself that,” he muttered dryly. Stiles blew a raspberry at him and grinned at Jamie who laughed looking between them. “Isn't daddy hilarious? Isn't he? Come on, you're the one person who's supposed to stick by me!”

“No,” Jamie said reaching for the ice cream on his spoon. Derek laughed, a bark of laugh that startled Stiles into laughing too. 

“My own pup has turned on me,” Stiles gasped. 

“I don't think he's in agreeable mood.”

“He must be picking up on your traits then,” Stiles teased. Derek shoved his shoulder so Stiles laughed finishing off the rest of the ice cream. “Come on, let's go see the rest of this monster. Then we should go for burgers, big burgers and fries. What do you say?”

How could he say no? Derek bobbed his head once in agreement and stood up when Stiles did. The once small ache in his chest burned as it widened and it hurt. It hurt to the point of rubbing it and wishing he had a way out. Wishing that his whole world wasn't turning on it's axis all because of them. His confliction never ended, it was everything deep down he wanted and everything he couldn't have.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was so fun to write! You're all going to hate me by the end. 
> 
> I love you all for commenting and reading! It's a brilliant encouragement.
> 
> Kisses and cookies.

Stiles was feeling that irksome itch of boredom underneath his skin as he stood in work and stared at the door. It was a slow day. Danny was cleaning the filters out and neither Laura or Derek were here. It was raining outside and he exhaled harshly willing time to go faster. It was just after lunchtime and he straightened up willing himself to find something to do. Stiles was sweeping the floor when the bell jangled and he turned seeing a young woman shaking out a blue umbrella. Her hair strawberry blonde and perfectly curled, her outfit expensive, and Stiles nearly had a heart attack looking at that oh so familiar face.

“Lydia?!” he cried. 

Lydia's head perked up and she flashed him a smirk. “Miss me?”

“Oh my god,” he hissed delighted. The broom was forgotten when he rushed over to her and wrapped his arms around her. Lydia huffed amused in his ear, her arms wrapped around his waist. Stiles inhaled deeply smelling the apricots and vanilla. How he had missed it. Lydia let go of him raising an eyebrow and he stepped back looking her up and down.

“You're supposed to be in France!”

“It was never meant to be permanent. I was always going to come back. Allison is all loved up and I got bored,” she replied, taking a seat. Stiles glanced around the empty shop before taking a seat. 

“Danny, you mind?”

“Nah man, I'll be in the back,” Danny answered with a wink. 

“I've missed you,” he admitted honestly. “So how was it?”

“Rather beautiful. They don't call it the city of love for nothing. The food was nice, the scenery beautiful, the men even better. I stayed for the food and the sex.”

“Any good?”

“What, the food or the sex?”

“Both,” he smirked. 

“Filthy good,” she murmured. Stiles grinned leaning back, his arms folding over his chest.

“I need to visit Paris. So, why are you really back?” Stiles questioned her. Lydia sighed sitting forward, her hands folded together as she did so.

“I missed home. Allison is out there for good, she's met a new man, has a new job, she's loved up. I needed to come back to New York. My life is here. But enough about me, what about you? From the last email I had, you had been evicted.”

“Yeah, I'm living with Derek now. Have been for months now. It's good, you know, for living with one of my bosses. He's an okay guy.”

“We're talking about the Derek Hale that you've lusted over for years now. Always craving, always wanting him, and you're now living with him?” Lydia asked carefully, her eyebrows raised in disbelief. “Have you fucked him yet?”

“What? No!” he protested, his head shaking as he sat back. “He's my boss and room mate. That's wrong plus he's straight.” 

“He's not straight, Stiles, possibly bisexual.”

“Oh and how do you know that?”

“I'm good with people, I seem to know what's happening before anyone else does. Call it a gift,” Lydia murmured, her hands folding together. Stiles snorted twiddling his thumbs together. “I've seen him around, see the way his eyes linger on women and men. Shops, on the side walk. He's interested in both.”

“Okay, just for arguments sake, say he is bisexual...it doesn't mean we're going to fuck each others brains out. I have a baby, there are things to consider. It's not like it was before.”

“When was the last time you dated someone or even had a fling?” she questioned. 

“Why does that matter?!”

“Answer the fucking question.”

“I don't know,” Stiles exclaimed dramatically. “Chris, maybe, I've got an eight month old pup at home. I can't exactly date...”

“Yes you can, you have a baby, yes, but not all men are afraid of babies. Some don't even mind. You don't even have to tell them. You go on a date, you laugh, you joke, you talk, maybe you get a kiss and maybe, just maybe, you go back to his and you fuck. Fun all around.”

“I have a son, I can't do that anymore, Lydia. What I do effects him, I can't go around screwing loads of guys. I don't want that, I want – I want something stable, secure, someone who isn't going to run away.” 

“Like Derek.”

“Derek is not the answer here,” he muttered. His eyes focused on the door and the rain hitting the side walk in a steady pace. “He's my -”

“Boss and room mate. I get it, who gives a crap? Quit your job, get a new one, he's your room mate, move out, you've got money to find a cheap place. You date him and see what happens.”

Stiles let out a sharp laugh shaking his head. “You make it sound so easy.”

“You make it sound so hard.”

“He – he doesn't like me, you know, that way. He doesn't! We're friends, I think, we haven't exactly labeled each other but he's my friend. Yeah, yeah I like him more than a friend. I mean, he's got the looks, he's so pretty it hurts my eyes sometimes. But on top of that he's – he's honorable, he can be kind, honest, funny, he's grumpy as hell in the morning. Derek's good with Jamie, he hates babies and pups, but with Jamie...plus Jamie adores him. Gets this big smile on his face when he sees Derek, constantly wants to sit on him, push books into his hands.”

Lydia was quiet, her eyes searching him, a small smile on her lips as she sat back. “It sounds like you're in love with him or getting there.”

“I'm not in love with him!”

“Of course not.”

“I don't love him, I don't even know what love is. What the hell is love? I thought I loved you but I was wrong. I lusted,” Stiles mumbled bitterly. “I lust after him now. I can't help it, he does something really fucking cute with Jamie or makes me something to eat and – and I want to slam him up against a wall. Grip that hair and kiss him so hard I taste him for days. It's driving me crazy!” 

Lydia was smirking and he hated it. Hated how well she knew him because she did know him. Stiles ended up dismissing her and stood getting them two coffees. He made a mental note to take it out of his paycheck later. Stiles had missed her, missed her wit and charm, her smiles, the fact she always smelled nice, and she took none of his bullshit. Lydia ended up staying throughout his whole shift, making the odd comment here and there until it was over and he could go.

“You're coming with me to pick up Jamie?”

“Of course, I haven't seen him in months.” 

Heather was the one to greet them when she opened the door with a big smile. It faltered only a little when she noticed Lydia behind him. 

“Daddy's here, Jamie,” she called to him. Jamie was waiting with his coat on and his pacifier in patiently. His arms shot up and he grinned at him as he scooped him up and kissed his nose. 

“Has he been good?”

“He's been okay, little moody in the morning, but he soon perked up after milk and cookies.”

“Good,” he replied, tucking him close to his body before they walked out together. Lydia shot a smug smile at Heather who eyed the pair of them before they walked away.

“She likes you.”

“Of course she does, I like her too.”

“No, Stiles, she likes you. Not in a friendship way, more in a wanting to rip your clothes off...”

“Hey,” he hissed, covering a hand over Jamie's ear. “No talk of anything like that around my baby. I'll hurt you if you do. I don't like her like that anyway.”

Lydia hummed eying Jamie who was looking at her warily. “He doesn't recognize me does he?”

“Well you did run away to France with Allison when he was a couple of months old. So, no, he doesn't know you.”

It was a short walk back to the apartment and the lights were on inside. Derek was cooking what smelt like tomato and pasta, his back was facing them and he looked over his shoulder. His eyebrows raised in greeting before they dropped noticing Lydia.

“Hey, Derek, this is Lydia, an old friend. Lydia, Derek,” he said, nodding between them.

Lydia hummed eying Derek and turned towards him with a smirk. Stiles rolled his eyes, shutting the front door behind him because he knew that smirk too well. Knew exactly what she was thinking. Derek was drying his hands and he nodded at Lydia who was still smirking.

“It's nice to meet the name to face. Stiles has talked about you a lot.”

“You have?”

“I have?” he murmured surprised. “I don't talk about you a lot. God, you're so dramatic.”

“I'm dramatic?” Lydia scoffed. Jamie fussed in his face till he dropped him down so he could crawl away towards his toys. “I'm not dramatic. I see things all too well. Anyway, it is really nice to meet you. I'm not staying long, I have an apartment I need to disinfect.”

“Your old apartment? I thought you stopped renting it?”

“I got it back.”

Stiles raised his eyebrows but didn't question it. Derek was quiet watching them, his eyes narrowed in contemplation as he stood in the kitchen making dinner. 

“Please tell me you've made enough for two, possibly three,” he muttered, glancing at Jamie playing with his toys. Derek rolled his eyes with a nod and Stiles grinned punching the air. Lydia stayed for a while, mostly to sit with Jamie and introduce herself. Her eyes ever wandering when they looked between them two and he shown her out at seven. 

“You could be very cute together, I can imagine the hot sex,” she whispered. Stiles groaned slapping a hand over his eyes.

“Please stop talking, it's not like that!”

Lydia's lips twitched and she leaned forward kissing his cheek gently, her hand warm when it cupped his wrist. “It could be.”

Those were her parting words and she left with a flick of her hair over her shoulder. Stiles leaned against the door frame watching her leave till she was gone. His head dropped against the wood and the constriction in his chest wouldn't fade no matter how much he wanted it too. Stiles walked back into the apartment to see Derek sat on the couch with Jamie tucked into his side watching television. The image hurt his heart and his head but like always he chose to ignore it. It was just easier.

*

Spring was a slow trickle into the world as they said goodbye to winter. Derek watched every day as the buds slowly started to come to life on the trees. The flowers erupted and you could smell the heat on the air. It was April now. It had been months since Stiles stepped into his life with his baby and his baggage. It had gotten a lot easier but at the same time the tension between them prickled. Laura would call it sexual and Derek would somewhat agree but there was something else. Something that had them both on edge and never able to settle when they met each others eyes or their skin brushed. Derek could barely touch Stiles' hand without feeling electricity run up his damn spine. It was constant, constant and annoying. The ache in his chest never disappeared. 

It didn't disappear when Stiles smiled at him in a certain way or Jamie said new words or stumbled when he tried to walk. He was always pushing, always holding onto their hands to do that first step. Jamie would be one years old soon and already he was achieving so much higher than the guidelines say. It didn't stop Jamie from slipping in the odd 'dada' directed at him once or twice. Stiles never questioned it and Derek didn't dwell on it. He was only a baby. 

His hands gripped the stroller tight as he pushed it through the park. It was a Thursday, Stiles was in work, the nursery was closed, and he had offered to mind Jamie. It wasn't like he had much to today but to watch Stiles' eyes light up in gratitude was something. Jamie was dressed warmly and holding his teddy bear tight in his hands.

“Oh how sweet!” a voice said softly. Derek looked up to see an elderly lady walk towards them smiling wide at Jamie. “Oh isn't he sweet. How old is he?”

“Twelve months, nearly one soon.”

“Oh, precious, hello little man, hi,” she said in a high pitched voice that all people use on someone smaller than them. Jamie cooed waving his hands.

“Hi,” he repeated around his pacifier. “Dada, dada...”

Derek swallowed hard twisting the stroller around so Jamie could see him, just in case it was meant for him, and Jamie smiled catching sight of him.

“I can see you in his features, he is a darling boy,” she said pleasantly before she left. Derek had forgotten how to use words as he stood in the middle of the park and looked around. It was a quiet day and not everybody took notice of him. He pushed the stroller towards the swings and undid his straps to let him out. Jamie loved the swings. He spat his pacifier out and his hands clung to the plastic rail in front of him. 

“One, two, three,” he said, pushing him gently so he giggled kicking his feet. It was a steady push as he knelt in front of him and pushed him back and forth. Jamie let his head fall back as he looked up and around. Derek saw Stiles in him so vividly from his eyes to his expressions. He really was his father's son. 

They stayed till Jamie was tired and he fell asleep in his stroller on the walk home back. His phone buzzed in his pocket and he stopped at a bench to answer it.

“Little brother!”

“What do you want?”

“God, can't a sister call her brother these days?!

“No,” he replied, rolling his eyes. “What?”

“I've just finished up in the office and was wondering if you'd like to join me for a coffee. I will pay, I promise this time.”

“I have Jamie with me, I'm babysitting.”

Laura cooed into his ear so he flushed and scowled. “So? Bring him with you! You know the place, I'm giving you twenty minutes.”

The call cut off and he groaned internally pushing the stroller forward. It wasn't their coffee shop but one of their competitions in a sense. It did good coffee and nice muffins though. Laura was already waiting playing on her iPhone with two coffees and three muffins.

“There's father of the year!” she cried, arms spread out to welcome him.

“Shut up.”

“Oh come on, look at that flush on your cheeks! You adore him and he adores you.”

“I'm not his father, I'm his...babysitter.”

“He calls you dada,” Laura deadpanned. Derek gritted his teeth dragging the chair out and taking a seat, his eyes flickered to Jamie still fast asleep. 

“Stiles doesn't know that, when he says it around Stiles...he thinks it's him.”

“Seriously,” she muttered in a flat voice. “Fuck, when are you going to seize the day and tell him how you feel?! God, it's giving me mini heart attacks watching you two do the 'we have feelings but we're not going to talk about it or acknowledge it' dance. I'm worried for my health.”

“Go see a doctor then,” Derek murmured, raising his eyebrow and taking a bite of the muffin.

“You're losing out on something incredible here,” Laura whined. “It's been months, Derek, months. He likes you, just like you like him. You could have something, something more than a fuck under the sheets. You could – you could have a family.”

“You're my family,” he mumbled. 

“Yeah, I'm your big sister, but it's not the same. Not the same as having someone next to you in the morning or having a big cuddle from someone who sees you as daddy number two!” she hissed, her finger pointing at Jamie. “Why are you denying this?!”

“Why are you forcing this? Worry about your own love life, not mine.”

“I have a love life!” she hissed. Derek blinked in surprise watching color flood her cheeks as she sipped her coffee and sat back. “I'm not telling you who and when because it's early days. She's nice.”

“She?” he murmured surprised.

“What? Oh come on, like you didn't know.”

Derek was taken back but didn't question it. Instead he picked at his muffin and waited till Jamie woke up. His eyes squinting till he smelled food and whined to be let out. Derek undid the straps and brought him out. His back was sweaty and his hair ruffled once he was placed on his lap and Laura smiled at him adoringly. 

“Oh he's just so sweet, you want this?” she said, passing him a piece of muffin.

“Tar,” Jamie said for 'thank you' and pushed it into his mouth. He took another piece and turned his head offering it up to Derek who smiled.

“No, you have it, I have mine.” 

“Oh I need a photo,” she hissed delighted. Derek scowled at her snapping photos of the two of them and typing something on her phone. “They're on my Twitter.”

“Whatever.”

“You need to seize the moment, little brother, seize it...and don't look back.”

Derek tightened his arm around Jamie and refused to speak further. It was nice to see her but he was glad to leave and return home. Jamie was set on the couch looking sleepy and content as he watched him move around the living room. The television was turned on and he grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge. He sat down heavily on the couch and focused on the bright vibrant cartoons on the television. 

It was five by the time Stiles made his way home smelling of coffee beans and sugar. He smiled tiredly at them in greeting.

“Dada!” Jamie called to him happily.

“Hey, baby, you been good?” 

“He's been good,” Derek answered for him. “We went to the park, had coffee with Laura, and she force fed him muffin.”

“Oh, yeah, I bet he put up a really good fight when presented a muffin,” Stiles called back to him sarcastically. 

“The muffin won.”

Stiles smirked at him from the kitchen and went about making dinner. Derek huffed pushing to stand and gripped his shoulder with both hands dragging him back.

“Hey!”

“You've been working, go sit down.”

“Are you offering to cook for me?” Stiles asked him surprised. “You never offer. You give leftovers.”

“Well now I am, relish the moment, what do you want?”

“I was thinking sausages and mash. I'm really in the mood for something meat and potato.”

“Fine,” he muttered. Stiles chuckled surprised and moved to the spot he had just vacated. Jamie crawled into his lap the moment he sat down and Derek listened to Stiles talking softly to him, small kisses pressed to his forehead and nose. He made dinner for all of them and they ate around the table. Jamie's hand smashed into the mash so it splattered over him and across the table. Derek swore some of it hit the ceiling and Stiles covered his face, shoulders shaking in silent laughter. 

“I am so sorry, Derek.”

“It's fine,” he muttered amused. Derek looked at Jamie smiling at his own antics and he turned his head to Stiles scolding him. 

“Oh my god, I can't leave you alone for two minutes, you mucky puppy,” Stiles mumbled under his breath. He got him out of the high chair and carried him outward towards the bathroom. Derek was left to clean and he removed the potato from the roof. The place was smelling like lemon by the time Stiles came out with a bathed Jamie in his arms. His hair was damp and sticking up everywhere. 

Derek got two alcoholic beers out of the fridge and turned the television onto normal television waiting for him. It took twenty minutes before he emerged. 

“Please tell me that has wolfs bane in it,” Stiles pleaded. Derek nodded passing him the bottle. Stiles flopped down next to him taking two big gulps.

“This is good, so good, god I am so tired. It wears you out this, you don't think about it when you first have them. You know when he was born, so tiny, so dependent, didn't do anything but sleep and shit.”

“You're doing a good job.”

“You think?” Stiles whispered breathlessly. “Thanks.”

“Not everyone can raise a baby on their own.”

“No, I never imagined raising a baby on my own. I didn't even imagine getting pregnant,” Stiles confessed, raising the bottle to his lips and taking a sip. Derek eyed the way his lips surrounded the bottle before forcing them away to look at the crime show he had flicked on.

“The biological father?”

“Oh are we having this conversation?” Stiles murmured.

“We don't have to...” he said quickly. Stiles held up a hand shaking his head firmly.

“No, we can, I just wondered when it would come up. The biological father or Matthew as I liked to call him ran away when I was eight months pregnant. We were fuck buddies for my heats. I came off the suppressants and everything because heat sex is...well it's kind of really awesome. I took the pill to stop the pregnancy but it – it didn't work one time. I took it too late. Matthew took it okay at first, came to the scans, but then something switched as I got bigger and bigger. I don't think he could handle it so one day I go to the apartment and he's gone. His clothes, everything, just gone. No note, his phone was off, his friends wouldn't tell me where he went. I haven't seen him since.”

Derek clucked his tongue against his teeth and made a mental note to punch him if he ever saw him.

“Sounds like an asshole.”

Stiles smirked and nodded drinking more of his beer till it was gone. “We got more of these?”

Derek got the rest of the beers out of the fridge before returning and handing one to Stiles. 

“So, if we're going to talk about our past and feelings. What about you, you ever thought about family? You know, the white picket fence, wife, pups, a Labrador called Sam?”

“You're not funny,” he murmured. Stiles chuckled nudging him hard in the ribs so he grunted twisting away from him. 

“Come on, you can tell me.”

“No, no, I've never imagined that. I never saw myself as a family man. Settling down, getting married, having pups, it seemed like something that wasn't for me.”

“That's sad,” Stiles said softly. “You still think like that?”

“I don't know.”

Stiles was quiet and simply drank from his beer staring at the television. Derek joined him in downing his own bottle and snatching his second. The buzz was already starting to hit him. The wolfsbane worked fast numbing their senses and bodies for the alcohol to grab hold and take effect. The world is spinning above his head when he hits his fifth bottle. 

“I think – I think I could be a little drunk,” Stiles mumbled. His eyes met his before he laughed and threw his head back against the couch. Derek looked him over thoughtfully. 

_He's beautiful._

It hit him so forcefully he felt dizzy from it. Stiles downed the rest of his drink before placing it down on the coffee table and rolling his head towards him. 

“You know, I don't think I've ever really thanked you for taking me and Jamie in when you did.”

“Don't, please, I think we've lived with each other long enough.” 

“You saved us,” Stiles whispered. 

“What, like a superhero?”

Stiles hummed amused and turned on his side to look at him. Derek turned his head to look at him and felt trapped by big brown eyes. They were designed to torture him. 

“You've been awesome with Jamie you know. I didn't expect him to take to you so openly. I mean – he's good with people. But with you, he just – he saw something there. Something he liked.”

“I never expected to like him either. I don't do pups.”

“Bullshit,” he chuckled. “You so do.” 

“Okay, maybe just him, and maybe – maybe I'd like my own as well.”

Stiles bit his lip hard, his eyes looking over his face in wonder before he shifted a little closer to him. “You know, I think you'd be an amazing father. Underneath this hard exterior of 'no one touch me' and 'I'll rip your face off' kind of attitude you have sometimes. You're sweet and you're awesome with Jamie.”

“I don't see it myself sometimes.”

“Someone fucked you up didn't they?” Stiles whispered catching him off guard. “Someone you liked or hell even loved.”

“That obvious?”

“Just a little bit,” he smiled sadly. “Nothing that can't be fixed though. Everything can be fixed.”

“Not everything.”

“Bullshit, just get a bit of glue and happiness,” Stiles cried dramatically. Derek shook his head at him, his eyes rolling as the alcohol swirled around his system. He was quiet beside him before he moved closer and grabbed his hand with both of his.

“Hey,” he whispered. “You deserve happiness you know.”

“You sound like my sister.”

“We're on the same wave length!” 

“Not exactly the same wavelength,” he murmured, eyes looking away to focus on the television. Stiles' breath was warm against his cheek when he turned his head back to focus him. His eyes were wide and a little unfocused. Stiles was obviously drunk and he couldn't help but stare into them. 

“You want to know a secret?”

“Yeah,” Derek murmured.

“Sometimes, sometimes I think about our kiss. The one at Christmas. I dream about it.”

Derek was sure he could hear his heartbeat in his ears and his chest felt a little tighter staring at him. His words were like silk over his skin and he nodded. It was all he could do, his eyes looking at his lips involuntarily before they swept back up to his eyes. Their hands were still clasped together, Stiles' nails digging lightly into his skin. Derek was so aware of him, every breath, every movement he made, every flutter of his eyelashes. It was maddening. 

“Derek, I...” Stiles murmured before cutting himself off and pressing his lips to his. Derek parted his lips exhaling harshly against his in response. They were soft, a gentle pressure against his own. It was chaste, a brief brush, a taste that left him craving more. They parted and Derek seized the moment. His hand cupped the back of his neck gently to pull him back in and kiss him hard. Stiles groaned, his hands twitching against his chest before settling against his shoulders. 

Derek could taste the beer on his tongue, their tongues a hot slide against one another. Stiles whimpered when they parted and that sound shouldn't undo him but it did. The air hissed through his teeth before he claimed that mouth as his own again. His hands pushed at Stiles' chest to lie him down, his thighs spreading wide so he could fall in between them. 

“Derek, fuck,” Stiles whispered desperately against his lips. His hands fisting into his hair so he groaned cupping the back of Stiles' skull with two hands. It was better than alcohol, food, water, anything that wasn't Stiles' lips against his, his body a warm hot pressure against his. His cock was rock hard in his jeans as they pressed together. Stiles pressed his teeth into his bottom lip nearly undoing him as he swore harshly. 

They were panting against each others lips and Derek couldn't have felt more heavily aroused if he tried. His forehead pressed Stiles' collarbone as he shut his eyes and willed himself not to come in his jeans like a teenager. His fingers dragged through his hair slowly, carefully, and Derek shivered lifting his head.

“Stiles,” he murmured and paused seeing his eyes closed. “Stiles?”

His breath was heavy but controlled as Stiles passed out in front of him. Derek closed his eyes slowly pulling back from his spread eagle body. His hand pressed to his forehead and he licked his sore lips looking back at him in disbelief. His mind was swirling, his cock ached, and he felt exhausted too. Derek moved Stiles aside carefully and lay next to him. He looked over him, his lips red and puffy, his cheeks stained pink from stubble burn, his lashes touching under his eyes. He was heaven and hell wrapped in one. His eyes slipped closed as he breathed in and out slowly letting the darkness accept him. They'd deal with it in the morning. He hoped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *smirks*


	6. Chapter 6

Stiles' head felt stuffy, his bladder cramped from too much juice, and his morning wood was pressing painfully against his thigh. There was a hot warmth and weight against his back and he turned wincing at the crick in his neck to see Derek. Derek who was plastered against his back, his arm a warm secure band around his waist, his breath tickling his neck as he breathed deeply in and out. Watching him brought back the memories of last night and he swore internally shutting his eyes. It was a bit of a blur but he remembered leaning in and kissing him. Derek's strong enthusiasm to this when he knocked him on his back and settled between his spread legs was a surprise. It had been amazing, hot, heavy, everything he had been wanting and craving to do before blissful darkness swept over him. He had passed out in the middle of what could have been the hottest make out ever. It was humiliating. 

Stiles pressed his teeth into his bottom lip edging away from Derek who grunted twisting to lie on his back. He sat up watching him till Derek breathed in and out deeply again. 

Stiles stood willing away the morning erection and moved to the bedroom to see Jamie still fast asleep. He headed into the bathroom relieving himself and stood in front of the mirror. His reflection stunned him and he turned his head side to side to see the pinkness to his cheeks. Stubble rash. His lips were pink and a little puffy, his hair stood up, and he looked wrecked. 

“Shit,” he whispered. He switched on the water and splashed cold water onto his face hard before switching it off breathing harshly. “Shit!”

It wasn't supposed to happen. The alcohol took control when he couldn't and now a make out session had wormed it's way into this. It wasn't like he didn't want it, it's just that he couldn't have it. His fingers gripped into the sink before he stood straighter and headed towards the door. Stiles opened it carefully and sucked in a breath to see the couch vacant and Derek missing. There was movement in the kitchen and he crept in glancing around the corner to see Derek with his back facing him.

“I'm making coffee.”

“Shit,” Stiles jumped. He swallowed rounding the corner and stopping still to twitch and stare at him. “Thanks.”

The words were on his lips but he couldn't say them and Jamie decided it was time to wake up and scream in protest. Stiles was thankful for the distraction and hurried away to greet him. Jamie smiled from where he was lying on his back. His eyes were tired and he looked ruffled and cute from his long sleep.

“Hey, baby boy,” he murmured, his hands scooping him up so he could nuzzle his cheek and press a warm kiss there. “How did you sleep? Are you hungry?”

“Yeah,” Jamie answered him softly, his hand patting his cheek in greeting. Stiles smiled holding him closer and walked out to see Derek missing and a cup of coffee waiting for him. His stomach flipped and swirled at the cup and he felt sick placing Jamie in his high chair. He made him oatmeal and jam and set him up to eat it on his own while he drank his coffee.

The sounds of the shower hit him and he closed his eyes remembering last night. Alcohol and deep discussions of feelings did not mix well and he sighed deeply. The kiss was seared into his brain, the memory of Derek's hands tugging his hair, his fingers scraping his scalp. 

“Stop it, stop it, stop it,” he chanted to himself. The arousal was thrumming through him and he downed the rest of his coffee in response. Stiles shook his head firmly and looked over to Jamie eating his breakfast and staring at him. It was like he knew and was judging him. The good and bad thing was that he wasn't in work today and the nursery was still closed. It meant that he had a day to himself but what to do was the other question. 

Stiles remained in the kitchen, his feet cool against the tiles, and Jamie sucking on a pacifier dipped in jam. Derek soon came out freshly showered and dressed in clean clothes. His eyes were downcast and he looked up meeting his eyes for a moment.

“I'm going to head out.”

“Sure,” Stiles murmured, his thumb in his mouth as he chewed around the skin nervously. Derek coughed clearing his throat, his hands grabbing his leather jacket before he tugged it on and left. The door clicked closed and he pressed his lips together hard. Stiles had plenty of drunken make out sessions before but none hurt like this. Normally it was an awkward smile and they didn't look back but with Derek. The feelings for him burnt like fire through his veins. The desire never faltered. It hurt deep down to know that Derek felt the same way. 

“Dada,” Jamie called to him. Stiles turned his head to see Jamie looking at him and at the door, a frown on his face like he knew something was wrong. 

“Nothing baby, should we get dressed and go see Uncle Scott?”

“Scott!” Jamie cried correctly. Stiles smiled sadly and undid the straps to the high chair to get him out. It was harder than he thought to bury his heart, head, and feelings to get on with the day around him. He got them dressed and warm in their coats before he headed out with the stroller. Scott was in a new apartment now, smaller than his last, but it would do. 

The fact it was also twenty minutes away from his was an added bonus. Stiles rang and rang the buzzer till a sleepy groan greeted him.

“I have a baby, you have a best friend who wakes early and needs you! Let me up,” he shouted into the intercom. Scott huffed but let him into his building. Scott's apartment was on the sixth floor and he was ever so thankful for the elevator. 

“I hate you,” Scott greeted.

“Hey, dude,” Stiles replied, leaning in and pressing a wet kiss to his cheek so he growled batting him away. “Oh come on, that was sweet. What are best friends for?”

“It's barely nine!”

“Oh shut up, I'll go put coffee on, and – and you should put on some damn pants!” Stiles cried, his eyes zeroing on the dick he didn't want to see. Scott flushed slapping his hands over it and hurrying to the bedroom. “There are children around! Should be ashamed.”

“I forgot, I can barely remember my own name right now. Why are you here?” Scott replied sleepily. He returned to the kitchen wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt. “You are never here this early. Has something happened?”

Stiles got Jamie out of his stroller and set him on the floor so he could crawl away and explore. “I may have done something really, really stupid.”

Scott rolled his eyes hard, his hand snatching his coffee pot to make coffee. Stiles made himself comfortable on the couch. It was covered in a blanket and while the place lacked personal touch, it was still a home. Scott joined him with a big mug of coffee that he passed into his hands. Jamie was sitting in front of the television, the cartoons a soft murmur in the background.

“Tell me.”

“I got drunk last night, Derek and me, we got drunk together. I may have made out with him, you know all hot and passionate kissing before I – I passed out.”

Scott's eyebrows raised and he took a big sip of his coffee. “Well, I didn't expect that.”

“I fucked up!” he hissed, hand slapping over his mouth. “I swore this wouldn't happen, Scott, because it can't happen! I basically made out with my boss!”

“Technically, Laura is your boss. Derek just shares the same contract.”

“Whatever, it still matters, plus he's my room mate. Scott, you have no idea how awkward it was this morning. He just showered and took off! I woke up with him wrapped around me like a pretzel. It's wrong!”

“Well it can't have been so wrong that he kissed you back.”

“We were drunk,” Stiles murmured flatly. “Drunk enough to think kissing was a good idea.”

“You're still self aware, still know what you're doing, still know enough to remember the next morning,” he pointed out. Stiles scowled, his head falling back to stare up at the ceiling. “You like him, right?”

“Yeah, god yeah, he's...awesome.”

“Then what is so wrong in dating him?”

“It's...complicated! It's not like I can just date him, Scott. We live together, that's already a big no – no. I work for his company. We're friends plus – plus I have Jamie. That's commitment, not only to me, but to him.”

Scott scoffed waving a hand in his direction, the coffee slopping a little on the sides of his own mug. “If there is just one thing I know about that man, it's that he's crazy about Jamie. Crazy for him, he does everything, he babysits him, takes him for walks, plays with him, the moment he starts dating you is not the moment he stops caring.”

“You're making this worse, you're supposed to be on my side,” Stiles whined. 

“I am on your side, I'm always on your side.”

“Then know that I'm talking sense here, I know I am,” he murmured. Scott sighed, his head ducking down to look at the coffee in his mug before looking up to meet his eyes. 

“It makes some sense but I hate you're stopping your own happiness for something so trivial.”

“Don't I always?” Stiles whispered. Scott's mouth twisted, his hand cupping the back of his head to massage it gently with his fingertips. It was a gentle touch and he was grateful for it. “Besides, I think he feels the same way. Wouldn't he have said something?”

“Not if he was feeling embarrassed.”

“Scott, he has shown no side of reciprocating the feelings I feel. Besides last night, but he was drunk! Alcohol affects people different ways, what if he was imagining I was someone else?! It's pretty easy.”

“You're paranoid. I need eggs.” 

Stiles shut his eyes hopelessly, his ears picked up on the sounds of Scott pulling out a carton of eggs and a frying pan. Scott actually made a mean breakfast and he ate the eggs and toast he made with a deep sigh of gratitude. 

“I just want you to be happy dude. That's all I want.”

Stiles smiled softly in return and nodded once grateful for him yet again. They ended up staying with Scott the rest of the morning and half the afternoon. Stiles eventually took Jamie and went for a walk. The sun was high in the sky and he pushed the stroller slowly and calmly till they reached home. His eyes scanned the building outside and he inhaled deeply mustering the courage he so badly needed. Jamie was sleeping by the time they got inside and Derek wasn't there. 

“There we go,” he whispered, placing him down into the cot so he stirred a little before falling straight back to sleep. Stiles gripped the top of the bar staring down at him, his whole wide world lay there sleeping. His decisions came with him alongside, anything he did had to be thought about. 

Stiles didn't know how long he was sat at the end of the bed staring at nothing. The front door opening triggered him to look up and swallow hard. He left closing the bedroom door behind him to see Derek stood taking off his leather jacket. 

“Hi,” he greeted. 

“Hi,” Derek repeated. Stiles winced at that and clenched his hands together. 

“Derek, we need to talk.”

“I know.”

“Okay, so about last night...”

“I know what you're going to say,” Derek interrupted. “It doesn't need saying. I've heard it a million times. It was a mistake, it was just the alcohol, nothing more, nothing less. I don't need the words.”

It was the snap in his tone, the coldness to his expression that had him swallowing and taking back a step.

“You've got to know why though, we shouldn't have...”

“Done it? I know, Stiles, I've heard it before.”

“Oh because you've had so many drunken make outs before me? You know exactly what I'm thinking, feeling, know exactly what I'm going to say?!” Stiles cried angrily.

“It doesn't take a genius to work it out, Stiles. Of course I've kissed someone when I've been drunk. It's always the same verse in the morning, this was a mistake, it shouldn't happen again, we're not good enough for each other, god I was so drunk, I'm sorry this happened. The same story, different verses, and I don't need it from you. I get it.” 

Stiles wants to cry, hates how the words hit him like bullets. Hates how cold they sound and he bites his lips hard feeling the skin break away a little. Copper burns on his tongue when he licks it and he folds his arms over his chest.

“So, what, you feel the same way as me?”

“It doesn't matter how I feel.”

“What? Yes, it does matter! Do you feel the same way, do you think it was a mistake last night?” Stiles demanded. 

“I think we were drunk,” Derek answered slowly. “I think we were drunk and you kissed me first.” 

“It's my fault basically,” Stiles muttered. “I kissed you...and you kissed me back. Explain that!” 

“Like you said, we were drunk.”

“I've said fuck all,” Stiles hissed, taking a step towards him. “You said it all for me. Know exactly what I was going to say apparently.”

“Were you going to say anything different?” Derek demanded facing him. “Were you?”

“No, but that doesn't mean you know everything I'm thinking and feeling, Mr Fucking Know It All! I'm doing this and saying this for the right reasons!”

Derek smirked nodding his head as he looked away and walked towards the kitchen. “Yeah, the right reasons, we can't do this, we can't do that, why? Oh the right reasons. It's so wrong.”

“Fuck you!” Stiles cried. “I'm doing this, saying this, because the repercussions are just too much. I have a baby I have to think about. I have a little boy who depends on me and if something goes wrong then it's on my head! You fucking asshole! Those are the right reasons for calling it a mistake.”

Derek's quiet as he stares down at the counter top instead of him, his hands fiddling with a packet of noodles he's got out. His jaw tightens and he looks up meeting his eyes.

“Then it's a mistake.” 

The words are so final. Derek drops the packet and moves out of the way to head into his bedroom. The door closes with a final click and Stiles' chest burns. His eyes tear a little and he sniffs deeply looking towards the window. His mind tells him it's a mistake, his heart screams another. It's an echo in the darkness and he slams the door on it so hard it hurts. 

*

To say things were awkward and tense was an overstatement. It was like walking on egg shells and Stiles hated it. Hated it more than anything in the world. Hated how at odds they were when they were together in the apartment. They no longer sat together on the couch and one or both ended up in their bedrooms. They hardly spoke. It was becoming steadily unbearable. 

Jamie was down for his sleep that evening, three weeks after the kiss, three weeks into the dancing around each other, hardly speaking, leaving first in the morning before the other. Three weeks into thinking maybe he was better off not being around Derek who didn't want to be around him. His hands flattened out the newspaper and he grabbed the pen looking at apartment listings. 

“What are you doing?”

Derek's voice had him jumping and clutching at his neck. “Fuck, you scared me.”

“Sorry,” Derek murmured, his footsteps comings towards him. “What are you doing?”

“Um, well, looking for apartments in the area...or you know out the area,” he murmured gently. 

Derek huffed above his head and sat down in the seat opposite him. “Why would you do that?”

“Seems like the right thing to do,” he winced. “Oh come on, Derek, you'd have to be dumb and blind to know thing haven't been the best here. I can barely wake up in the morning without feeling like total shit. Things are...tense. I think it's best if Jamie and I just go. Find somewhere else.”

Derek's frowning, his forehead puckered, his mouth tight and twisted as he stared at him. “You can't do that, Stiles, you don't have the money. You have no furniture, you'll have a ton of bills hitting you all over again. You'll go back and end up in the same way.”

“Wow, thanks for having so much faith in me. Oh my god, it's like being kissed by a butterfly,” he cried sarcastically. “Fuck you, I could do it.”

“You don't have to go anywhere, this is your home as well as mine.”

“You don't really want us here.”

“When have I ever said that?”

“Body language,” Stiles muttered feeling tired. He capped the pen and tossed it down to lean back and look at him. “It's changed, all of it, everything is different. You're different with me, you're different with Jamie -”

“How am I different with Jamie?” Derek interrupted. 

“You don't read to him as often lately, you don't pick him up as much, he's noticing the difference. It's probably why he's so needy lately,” he said, rubbing the space between his eyebrows. “Derek, I know you don't want us here. Not really. Not when you're so – so desperate to not be around us. I don't think you'd notice the difference.”

“I would, I'd notice the difference. I don't want you to go, Stiles, either of you. I've just kept my distance.”

“I can tell,” he muttered. “But maybe it is for the best...”

“No, it's not, you'll end up in the same situation.”

“Maybe,” Stiles sighed. “But we can't keep doing this...”

“So we'll stop.”

“Oh like it's that easy.”

“Yes.”

Stiles rolled his eyes at him, his eyes scanning the apartment listings dejectedly. “I guess it means I don't have to pack everything up. But we can't keep ignoring one another or not speaking or not being around each other. It's killing me here! It's like living with a stranger sometimes.”

“I'm sorry,” Derek muttered. “I'll stop, just – just don't move out.”

“Fine,” Stiles said, folding the newspaper back up. “Then we begin now and we order Chinese. I need Chinese and we watch Scrubs. Together, not apart.”

Derek smiled faintly before nodding and pushing to stand. Stiles got what he wanted, he ate his Chinese, and sat on the couch with Derek with his feet in his lap. What he didn't count on was falling asleep halfway through an episode. He was startled awake when hands picked him up but he kept his eyes closed and his breathing even and deep. Derek carried him into his bedroom and laid him down on the bed. Warmth pooled in his stomach and he hated it. Hated how weak one simple but cute act was slowly unraveling him from within. There was a gentle pressure of his hand in his hair once he laid him down and the fingers trailed down slowly till they rested on his neck. 

Derek shifted moving and Stiles peeked through his eyelashes watching him walk to the crib where Jamie was sleeping. He reached it bringing his blanket up and over him, his fingers stroking through his hair before he glanced between them. There was a protective stance to him and he left them to it with a careful click of the door. 

Stiles opened his eyes slowly staring ahead at the wall, his heart beat a little faster and he hated his body so much. It always betrayed you when you didn't want it too. Sleep came though and he was able to settle down for a good night sleep. But like always he was woken up early by Jamie standing in his cot. His eyes bright and tired when he called for his attention. 

“So loud for the morning, puppy,” he mumbled, his hands catching him and bringing him to rest on his hip. Stiles opened the door and stepped through only to stop at the sight of Derek awake and making smoothies. 

“What the hell, wolverine?”

“I woke early, felt like fruit, want one?”

“Yeah, yeah,” he mumbled. “Wow, has someone replaced you?”

Stiles poked his bicep and shook his head at him surprised. Jamie cooed reaching for Derek, his arms stretched out towards him. Derek reached for him back and Stiles passed him over feeling a tickle of amusement and surprise. 

“Want some?” Derek muttered to Jamie. Jamie took the sippy cup from his hands and started to drink, his eyes widening a little when he sucked harder. “I think he likes it.”

“He's always liked fruit. Different from me, I hated it when I was a baby. Force fed it so I could be grown up and healthy.” 

Derek handed him a smoothie blended to a nice red color before he sat down and took a sip. It was nice, refreshing, and he could feel the tension inside of him slowly ebbing away. It was such a difference from the last three weeks and he watched as Derek murmured to Jamie showing him different fruits.

“What's this?”

“Nana,” Jamie said, his hands reaching out for the yellow fruit in his hands. 

“Clever boy.”

Stiles smirked amused at the table. It looked like the threaten of moving out had changed Derek into the way he was before they got drunk and kissed till they passed out. 

“We're going to the park today, you want to come?” 

Derek turned his head to look at him over his shoulder before nodding. “Sounds good.”

“I'm sure you've been replaced by an alien Derek last night.”

“Or I've realized the error of my ways.”

“Our ways, it wasn't just me,” Stiles murmured. Jamie squealed grabbing the banana and shook it distracting the both of them. “But he seems happier.”

Jamie finished his smoothie and Stiles stole him back to get him dressed for the day out. There was a nervous tick running under his skin about spending the day with Derek but he knew it was what they would need. 

“You sure you want to come with us?” Stiles asked him once he got Jamie in his stroller. Derek was glancing at the paperwork on the table as he wavered in between coming and not coming.

“Yeah, I'd rather be out then stuck with my head in that crap,” he muttered. Stiles raised his eyebrows but gripped the handles of the stroller pushing it out. 

The park wasn't that filled up with people when they walked through at a leisurely pace. They reached the swings and took Jamie out settling him in so he smiled happily being pushed. 

“I am sorry about the past couple of weeks,” Derek said suddenly. Stiles glanced up at him from where he was pushing Jamie.

“I think it was both of us, no one to blame but each other.”

“I didn't think it'd reach the limit of you wanting to move out.”

“Would it have been so bad if I did?” Stiles asked, looking up at him through his lashes to see his expression twist. Derek bowed his head and tucked his hands into his leather jacket thoughtfully. 

“Yeah, I've got used to you living here. I was okay being alone, it was easier, I got used to the silence. I don't think I can do that now.”

It pulled him up short and he met his eyes for a long moment before they both looked away. The ache in his chest flared and he squashed it down in favor of watching Jamie swing back and forth. The joy in his face made everything better at the end of the day. That was what they both focused on and Stiles did his best to enjoy the day despite the tickle underneath his skin. It never faded, not even when hot dogs and ice cream was bought. It just grew worse when Derek got mustard on his chin and he wanted to wipe it off with his tongue. When he tossed Jamie into the air and caught him giggling like crazy. His heart went into overtime and he wanted to cry at the perfection of the picture it caused. 

It was the longest day and Stiles was grateful for the end of it. When he could put Jamie down for bed time and dress in comfy clothes. It was ten when he decided it was time for bed and he brushed his hands across Derek's shoulder saying goodnight. Stiles would be a fool if he didn't miss the way his eyes lingered on his hand. 

Sleep didn't come easy and he spent most of the night staring up at the ceiling to toss and turn. He knew it'd be a killer in the morning and he had work. Stiles settled on his side staring at the alarm clock, his eyes heavy, his breathing calm and heavy. It was slowly getting there when he heard it. It was a soft thump but unusual enough for him to open his eyes and push up onto his elbow. The thump was louder and it rattled his insides as he pushed the covers away and moved to the door. 

Stiles glanced at Jamie still sleeping before he opened the bedroom door and swore softly at Derek stood in front of it. His eyes glowed red in the darkness and he was half shifted standing there. It was at the front door the thumping and rattling that had him hiss through his teeth and step forward.

“Burglar?” he whispered, his hand pressing to Derek's lower back. 

“Stay back, stay behind me, I mean it,” Derek warned. Stiles swallowed nodding once and turned wanting Jamie in his arms as he scooped him up carefully. Jamie whined in his sleep but continued on as he moved back to stand behind Derek who was growling low approaching the front door. His protective stance in front of them had his heart beating faster than ever and the front door swung open revealing a silhouette in the doorway. 

Derek snarled viciously in response and Stiles stepped forward, his hand pressing Jamie closer to him as they watched the stranger sway. It was only when Derek swore harshly and pulled back to switch the light on that he stopped confused. Light flooded the room and he blinked at the harshness of it only to see a very drunk blond man swaying there. 

“Isaac,” Derek growled. “What the fuck?!”

“Hey – hey, my buddy, my pal, my -” he cried dramatically before he stumbled forward and smacked the floor face first. Stiles gasped when his nose exploded and blood coated the floor, his legs, and some even splattered the wall. 

“Derek, what the...” he breathed, staring at him for an explanation. 

Derek was normal again, his eyes tired and green were they regarded the fallen Isaac. “My ex room mate. He's been in Bulgaria.”

Stiles nodded wordlessly, his eyes flicking down to Isaac drunk, passed out, and a bubble of blood blowing on his nose as he breathed. 

“This is where the fun begins,” Derek muttered, folding his arms over his chest. Stiles nodded slowly in response, his arm rubbing Jamie's sleeping back as he took in the sight and couldn't believe this was his life now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I laughed writing Isaac's introduction to the story.


	7. Chapter 7

“I'm so sorry,” Isaac whispered. 

Derek stared at him for a long moment, there was a curl of pity in his stomach that he allowed to be there. Isaac looked a mess. His nose was broken but healing, blood coated his clothes, his chin, his hands, his eyes were a little black and blue, plus he was hungover. He looked over his shoulder at Stiles holding Jamie in the kitchen. It had been a long night for all of them and they were all feeling it in the early morning. Jamie was the only one who looked relatively healthy and awake. 

“Why did you come here?”

“Well I lived here!” Isaac exclaimed. “I – I didn't realize you'd rent out my room again. I mean I kind of figured you might but hoped you wouldn't.”

“You've been in Bulgaria for a year and a half,” Derek stated. “He needed it a lot more than you and I'm not about to chuck him out for you.”

“I – I know, I wouldn't ask you too,” Isaac whispered. His hands folded together, his eyes flickered between them. They lingered on Stiles and Jamie stood in the kitchen and he frowned glancing at Derek. “Is he yours?”

“No,” they answered at the same time. 

“You don't like babies.”

“I like this one,” Derek snapped. Stiles chuckled softly behind him and he fought to not smile as he sat down next to Isaac who winced. “Why are you back? The last time I heard, you were having the time of your life. You were drinking cocktails and fucking everything with a pulse.”

“It was time to come home. Bulgaria was nice, expensive, but nice. Plus I missed everyone. I miss Erica. I haven't heard from Erica in ages.”

“Neither have I. We fell out, remember? The last I heard she was working her way up the ladder in the fashion world.” 

Isaac grimaced, his hands finding his face to hide it. “I need to make things right with her. I mean we've been friends since we were in diapers. She was like my sister and then...then drinks happen...sharp words, arguments, and then we're here. I was just being honest! I didn't think she'd make it as a model and then she flipped. I still have a scar from that ash tray.”

Derek shared his views and gripped Isaac's shoulder gently in reassurance. Isaac leaned into his touch, his eyes closed as he breathed in and out slowly. They opened and he looked over meeting his eyes.

“I've missed you too,” Isaac whispered. “More than anyone else really...”

Derek removed his hand slowly, his chest seizing in a way he didn't like as he glanced over to Stiles watching them. His mouth was twisted into a frown, his eyes looking between them both in speculation. Stiles straightened and tucked Jamie closer to him before walking to his bedroom. The bedroom door slamming closed behind him echoed and Derek flinched back a little.

“Okay, what the hell was that about?” Isaac mumbled confused.

“Nothing,” he muttered resigned. “You stink. Go get a shower, I can get you some clean clothes.”

“Okay, thanks, Derek, seriously. I know I must have scared you and...” Isaac murmured, his hand gesturing outward. Derek sighed but nodded clapping his hand to his arm before he stood up. The only thing to do was to make coffee and lots of it. Derek closed his eyes with a soft sigh thinking back to all them years ago. It had been two weeks. Two weeks of experimentation mostly, a warm body, a hot mouth, and a willingness to have sex and lots of it. It ended when Derek called quits and decided they were better off as friends. Isaac didn't share the same views but Derek had been adamant about it. 

Coffee was made and he poured a cup for Stiles and headed to the bedroom. He knocked carefully and waited for Stiles to open the door. 

“What?” he muttered, his eyebrows raised in question.

“Here,” Derek murmured, handing the cup over to him. “Can we talk?”

“About what?” Stiles murmured, stepping aside so he could step inside. The curtains were still drawn, the bed unmade, Jamie was sat resting on the cushions without a care in the world. Derek smiled faintly facing him and crossing his arms over his chest.

“You know what, the very reason you left slamming the door behind you. Isaac, Isaac is a friend and a friend only...”

“Derek, you don't need to explain anything to me. Your private life is your private life,” Stiles sighed. His hands cupped the warm mug as he took a seat on his bed and looked at him. “We've all had an ex come back on the scene.”

“He's not an ex, he was a...he was a fling years back. Two weeks of experimentation before I ended it realizing we were better as friends and friends only. Isaac didn't share the same views, I think he's always – always clung onto it. I moved on a long time ago.”

“But you lived with him?”

“We worked a lot better as friends.”

“Awkward...” Stiles breathed, a faint smile on his lips when he met his eyes. Derek rolled his own and took a seat next to him on the bed. Jamie made a small sound behind him before his hands reached his thigh and he crawled onto them. His smile was bright and reached his eyes when he got comfortable looking between them. 

“How can he be so happy in the mornings?” Derek murmured, his hands taken by Jamie's as he gripped them and babbled softly. 

“It's a gift, he's one in two days. Are you sure about the party...”

“I said it was okay and it's his first. It's never going to happen again so it needs to be celebrated,” he interrupted. Stiles smiled brightly in response and knocked his shoulder into his. “It's your birthday isn't it? The very first one and you barely know how to say words properly yet.”

Jamie laughed when he lifted him up to stand and he could feel Stiles' eyes on them. He smiled when Jamie moved forward to lay his head on his shoulder. It was his own imitation of a hug when his arms wrapped around his neck and he rubbed his back gently. There was a knock on Stiles' bedroom door that had them turning towards it to see Isaac stood in nothing but a towel. Stiles cleared his throat looking pointedly away. 

“You got any clothes? I'm freezing my balls off here,” he demanded. Isaac looked between them, his eyebrows raised as he took in the scene. His mouth twisted just a little and Derek knew Isaac well enough to know what he was thinking. Derek handed Jamie back to Stiles with a soft sigh.

“Come on.” 

Isaac followed him to his bedroom and he could feel the heat of his eyes on him as he ransacked the wardrobe for clothes. 

“I go away for a year, I come back and you're playing house with your new room mate. I never thought I'd live to see this day,” he smirked. 

“He's a friend,” he argued, chucking clothes at him so he caught them with a laugh.

“You always say that, they're always your friend but really you're fucking them behind closed doors. Have you fucked him yet?” Isaac whispered. Derek slammed the cupboard door hard glaring at him. Isaac held up his hands trying to look innocent with his big eyes and curls. “It was just a question!”

“Shut the fuck up and get dressed. You shouldn't even be here.”

“I have nowhere else to go. This was my home, you just neglected to tell me you were renting the room.”

“You were in Bulgaria, I didn't have to,” he hissed at him. Derek walked out leaving him to it and sat down heavily on the couch. His head ached in a way he despised and he was desperate for sleep. Derek dragged a hand into his face and down over his face as he stared forward at nothing. Stiles was still in the bedroom talking softly to Jamie and he did his best not to listen. 

“I have nowhere to go,” Issac stated walking out of the bedroom. He was fully dressed and looked a lot healthier than before. “Derek, I don't know what to do.”

“Not my problem.”

“You're supposed to be my friend! That was my room!” he grumbled. 

“Yes, and now it's Stiles' room were he lives with his nearly one year old pup. Life is tough, get used to it.”

“Well at least let me stay a couple of nights so I can get my shit together!” Isaac pleaded, hands pressed together in a prayer, the eyes big, wide, pleading, and he hated them. Hated him more than anything.

“One night,” he warned. “Now I'm going to bed since I was watching your ungrateful ass all night. Wake me up and I'll kill you.”

Isaac saluted with a grin. Derek ignored him heading into his bedroom and slamming the door closed behind him. He stripped his clothes off till he was naked and could crawl under the covers without a care. 

*

Stiles held onto Jamie's hands as he walked him out of the bedroom and looked up to see Isaac laid out on the couch. His eyes lit up the moment he saw him and he swung his legs down to sit up and look at him. 

“I don't think we've been formally introduced.”

“I think we were introduced when you smacked the floor so hard you broke your nose and sprayed me with your blood,” Stiles muttered. “Is that how you greet everyone?”

“Only on rare occasions,” Isaac murmured, his mouth flicking up into a smug grin. “But I'm Isaac Lahey anyway. You are?”

“Stiles Stilinski, this is my son, Jamie,” Stiles said politely. Jamie fussed turning towards him and gestured with his arms to be picked up. 

“Cute,” Isaac muttered. “I go away, you move in, and Derek has become a family man. What's your secret?”

“There is no secret. Derek isn't a family man.”

“Of course he is!” he hissed delighted. “You've done something. Something no man, no woman, no one could do. He hates families, relationships, he doesn't do relationships. His last two were fucking disasters and I should know. I witnessed them. He plays around, he fucks, it's a lot easier.”

Stiles bristled at the tone and turned facing him as he stood in the kitchen. “Is that your definition or his?”

“Probably both, he's been my friend for years. I know what I'm talking about,” Isaac said, shrugging his shoulders. “So you and him haven't done the dirty deed?”

“How about you mind your fucking business?” he muttered, his hand covering Jamie's ear so he wouldn't hear the swear word. “You've been here barely twenty four hours and you're asking questions. He's your friend, you're not mine, so do us both a favor and shut up.”

Isaac chuckled unfazed and held up his hands standing up. “God, you're both so touchy. I ask the same question and both of you react like I've said the world is going to end. Pick a buddy to die with. I'm going to take a wild guess and guess...no. But I think something happened, maybe a kiss, maybe you made out with each other, and there's all this little squirmy feelings under the skin. Not acknowledged.”

Stiles slammed the cup down after he put Jamie in his high chair and he turned quickly to glare at him. “How about you shut the hell up before I make you. I don't give a rat's ass if you're Derek's friend, I'll throw you out the damn window and not give a shit. Stay out of my life and I'll stay out of yours.”

“Oh so touchy! Noted, talking about Derek riles you up. You got it bad,” Isaac muttered backing away. “Know the feeling.”

Stiles glared at him till he returned back to the couch and he grabbed the remote to turn the television on. He swallowed the lump in his throat hard and looked at Jamie sat in his high chair. Jamie was expressionless as he sat there and stared back at him. It was like he knew what he was feeling and thinking.

“Oatmeal coming up,” he mumbled. 

Stiles lingered for as long as he needed to and got them both dressed before heading out. It was the weekend and he had a full day ahead of him which meant Lydia was his go to. Her apartment was over half an hour away but the walk and fresh air was what he needed. It was nice to get out and Lydia was more than welcoming when he buzzed for her.

“You look like hell,” she greeted along with a hug.

“Feel like it. Derek's friend made a visit last night. Drunk and slammed the floor hard enough to spray me with blood,” he muttered miserably. Lydia grimaced bending down to unbuckle Jamie from his stroller and bring him to her hip. “Plus...they have a history.”

“History?”

“Oh they experimented together. Like teenagers wondering if they're actually gay or not. Like it's a thing you choose,” Stiles muttered bitterly. “It's like a bad sitcom! Me, Derek, my baby, and his ex-lover. Like fuck me.” 

“You are green with jealously.”

“I am not green with jealously.”

“Like a sexy Hulk,” she murmured thoughtfully. Stiles scowled taking a seat in her living room and pressed his hands to his face. “I told you he wasn't straight.”

“I think I gathered that when we made out on his couch. Which apparently according to Isaac, he does a lot. He doesn't do relationships, which I already knew, but...fuck!”

“Language!” she admonished. 

“It doesn't help with how I feel either, like do you have any idea how hard it is?! How hard it is to wake up and watch him work out, run, come back looking sweaty but amazing? To watch him play and interact with Jamie. He gets this little smile on his face and he looks at Jamie like he's the sun sometimes. It doesn't help that I can't stop thinking about our kisses. I just – I wish things were different.”

Lydia was watching him, her eyes narrowed thoughtfully. Her head shook as she took a seat next to him.

“You're such an idiot, I hope you know this. Such a self sacrificing idiot. This isn't going to get any better, you know. It's just going to get worse and worse till those feelings grow and grow till in the end you will not know what to do.”

“Then what do I do?”

“You either do something about it or you move on.”

“Move on?”

“Date different people, explore, let him babysit and go talk to people. You seriously worry me. All you do is work, take care of this one, go home and do whatever. You're just existing, Stiles, you're not living. Dating doesn't mean you have to find the right one, it means going out there and having a good time. Making friends, hell maybe you have more than one date.”

Stiles swallowed hard at the idea of dating someone else and stared down at his hands instead. “I don't know if I can do that...”

“Then let me set you up.”

“Lydia, no,” he cried, shaking his head. 

“Um, Lydia, yes, I've thought about this already. Plus...I want to see if it makes him jealous,” she murmured thoughtfully. Stiles turned his head to look at her horrified. Lydia smiled resting her cheek on the top of Jamie's head. It was a cute act and he closed his eyes shaking his head hard. 

“Whatever,” he mumbled.

Lydia smirked lifting her hand to run through his hair. It was a gentle act and it soothed him a little as he leaned in her touch. The soft fruit smell of her perfume was comforting and he was handed Jamie as she stood smoothing down the flowery dress she was wearing.

“I'm thinking a walk. Fancy driving down to Central Park?”

Stiles inclined his head and agreed to it. It was something to do and Jamie was a chatter box the whole journey there.

“So, what about your love life?” Stiles asked pushing the stroller down the path. Lydia inclined her head to look at him through her sunglasses. “Oh come on, Lydia Martin always has a love life.”

“Not always. I think I got my fill of men in France anyway. No one has really caught my eye. Maybe I haven't found the right man.”

Stiles coughed smoothing a hand down his top. Lydia smirked looping her arm with his on the stroller. 

“You know we're much better as friends. Always have been, we tried that and...” she trailed off and he grunted amused. They had shared a kiss once and it hadn't ended all that well. It was obvious they were better off as friends. “I love you like a brother. I don't know, Stiles, I'm not getting any younger. In fact I'm getting older...I found a gray hair.”

“Oh god,” he murmured. 

“It's like a reminder you're not getting any younger and all the things you liked are going to start disappearing. Like a slap to the face. Soon enough I'm going to have crows feet and my boobs are going to sag.”

“You're acting like you're aging every hour. Chill, you've got years ahead of you.”

“Tell that to me in ten years time.” 

“Okay,” he agreed amused. “You are coming to Jamie's party, right?”

“Wouldn't miss it,” she promised. 

*

Stiles was hit with the memories the moment he woke up on Jamie's first birthday. It was early morning and Jamie was still sleeping. The moment he found out he was pregnant, the elation, the crippling fear, the dread but the excitement underneath his skin. To know he was carrying life inside of him. Oh it was scary, it was always going to be scary. But he remembered well knowing he wasn't going to have an abortion or give the pup away for adoption. This was his baby and no one was going to tell him what to do. His eyes tracked along the green curtains before he sat up and inhaled deep calming breaths. He left the bedroom glaring at Isaac still on the couch. Isaac had nowhere to go and his attempts to get in contact with anyone who would take him were down to zero. It was laughable. Stiles opened the fridge for orange juice when he heard Derek's bedroom door open.

“Is he awake?”

“Which one?” Stiles mumbled, eyes flicking to Isaac snoring. 

“The important one.”

Stiles smirked pouring a glass of orange juice and shook his head. “Sleeping, he's lazy these days. Plus I have to get food ready for guests. Parties are good, the preparation? That sucks.”

“I'll help you out,” Derek said, reaching out and stealing his orange juice from him. Stiles narrowed his eyes shoving his shoulder before pouring himself another. 

“I can't believe he's one. Feels like yesterday I was holding a small baby in my arms, this little dependent human being wanting milk and diaper changes. I mean he still needs diaper changes but he's not demanding milk every two to three hours. It's such a weird feeling,” he said fondly. Derek hummed leaning next to him. 

“Would you ever want anymore?”

Stiles paused with the glass against his lip to turn and look at Derek stunned. “Like have another baby?”

“Yeah, I mean in the future.”

“I guess, I don't exactly have a mate or someone willing to have a baby with. Jamie was an accident, an accident I didn't expect but I still wanted. Even with pills he still came along. But I'd like to give him a little brother or sister one day, I never had one so I don't know the experience of having another there.”

The air is tense and he can't help but look and meet Derek's gaze. There is something heavy lying in his eyes and he swallows hard wanting to know what it is. The moment is broken and fizzled out when Jamie cries out in the bedroom.

“Birthday boy is awake,” Stiles mumbled moving away. Jamie is standing in his crib and waiting for him patiently as he greets him enthusiastically. 

“Who's the birthday boy?! Yeah, it's you, and how old are you?” he said, holding up one finger so he looked at it.

“One!”

“Clever boy,” he cried, kissing his cheek. 

“Why so much noise in the morning?” Isaac grouched sleepily. “Something wrong with you people.”

“Don't like it, go somewhere else,” Derek reminded him. Isaac pouted sitting up and rubbing a hand through his hair. Stiles smirked handing Jamie to Derek so he could give him his birthday wishes. Everyone was coming today, bar his dad, but that meant a long Skype call later. It hurt that California was so far. Stiles moved about getting food ready for everyone later and he watched out of the corner of his eye. Derek was sat with Jamie in his lap, his hands tickling him so Jamie squealed wriggling away from him. 

“You have it so, so, bad,” Isaac whispered to Derek. Stiles kept his head down as he worked and he swallowed the lump that always rose. Derek didn't respond and a part of him felt bitterly disappointed while the other was relieved. It was a horrible mix of emotions. 

“I'm getting a shower, will you watch him?”

Derek nodded from where he walking Jamie around the room, his hands wrapped around Jamie's so he wouldn't fall over. Isaac smirked from the couch, his fist curled against his mouth while he looked between them. Stiles resisted slamming the door hard behind him and instead took deep calming breaths under the hot water. He felt refreshed and calmer once he was done and changed. It was a smart shirt over a white top all the way when he came out and Derek raked his eyes down him.

“You look good.”

“Thanks,” he murmured, his cheeks feeling a little hotter than usual. 

“Super dapper,” Isaac cried from across the room. Stiles raised his eyebrows at Isaac dancing with Jamie to music they had put on for the background. “What? I heard it somewhere, I think it was a film...”

The first to arrive in the early afternoon was Scott. Scott wrapped his arms around him with a grin as he clung to him and patted his back.

“Just think, one year ago today, you broke my hand.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he muttered amused. “Well I was giving birth to a baby so you know...it was really freaking painful.”

“Excuses,” Scott cried. “Hey Derek, and who's this?”

Isaac was stood in the middle of the living room, his mouth open as he stared at Scott and Stiles resisted the urge to slap a hand over his eyes. 

“Scott,” Derek nodded. “This is my friend, Isaac.”

“I can introduce myself, take your kid,” Isaac muttered, thrusting Jamie at Derek who caught him with a scowl. “Hi, Isaac Lahey...”

“Oh my god,” Stiles mouthed at Derek. Derek grimaced in sympathy. Laura was the next to show up with a bag of gifts and two bottles of wine. 

“There's the cutest baby in the whole wide world!” she cried, her hands held out for Jamie who wriggled in excitement reaching for her. “One year old today, you just keep growing and growing with these big brown eyes.”

“His ego will be so big it'll implode,” Stiles murmured, his hands rubbing the back of his hair. Derek nudged his arm gently so he looked at him with a small smile. 

They all started to arrive. Lydia, Heather, Danny, who was by himself thankfully, it was a small group of people but they were here all the same. Jamie was beaming with all the attention and Stiles stole a chip watching Lydia and Scott fuss over him. 

“You look happy,” Derek commented into his ear. They were stood in the kitchen and he hummed looking over the group of people. Laura and Danny were talking, Lydia and Scott were on the floor, Isaac was staring at Scott like he was a toffee sundae he desperately wanted. Heather looked lost in her thoughts. 

“He's happy, so happy I think he might burst into confetti with all his new toys. I'm just glad everyone came.”

“They wouldn't have missed it,” Derek muttered. He drank from his beer and Stiles stared at him, the desperate urge to rip the bottle away from him and replace it with his lips soared up inside of him. He resisted it the best he could and stared ahead instead. 

“Dada,” Jamie called crawling into the kitchen. Stiles watched him crawl towards them and fully expected him to pull himself on his legs but he didn't. He gaped surprised when Jamie gripped Derek's jeans and stared up at him.

“Was he -”

“I think, I don't -”

“Dada!” Jamie protested, his hands tugging on his leg. Stiles bit his lip hard watching Derek scoop him up and he opened and closed his mouth wordlessly. 

“All this time, I thought he was, but he was...Derek, I'm sorry, shit,” he hissed, his hand gripping the counter. This, this was not supposed to happen at all. “I can try and get him to stop.”

“Won't make much difference, he's been doing it for a while.”

“Why didn't you say anything?” Stiles muttered astonished. 

“I – I don't know,” Derek admitted, a tightness around his eyes. There was murmurings from the people in the living room and he knew they couldn't have this conversation here. Stiles looked over his shoulder to see people pointedly looking away. Laura however was watching them curiously. 

“Scott, will you take Jamie?” he called over to him. Scott did as he was asked and Stiles gripped Derek's arm tugging him into the bedroom and shutting the door firmly behind him.

“Why didn't you tell me?”

“It didn't seem like an issue at the time.”

“An issue? He's calling you dada! He thinks you're like me, that you're his other father or a father figure or whatever. That's a big deal!” 

Derek sighed deeply nursing his forehead with his hand. “It wasn't an issue for me, Stiles, I don't mind.”

“Well I mind,” he cried. “I mind because we're room mates here and we're not – we're not even dating or like that at all.”

“He's one, Stiles, one year old and he barely knows what colors are. He sees another man who treats him like his father does, so what does his mind do? It assumes I'm like his dada, the one who feeds him, helps him, plays with him. Which I do. I help you. It doesn't matter because when he's old enough, he'll know that I'm not. I'll be Derek,” he argued. 

Stiles was struck speechless and dumb as he stared at him and Derek clenched his jaw tight taking a step back. 

“That's why I never said anything.”

“I, I guess I never, um, I never thought of it like that. I guess that's true, it's not like I could stop him anyway. This is Jamie, once he has a name for something...nothing will stop him. No matter how many times I tell him a banana is not nana.” 

Derek smirked once before it faded and he shoved his hands into his pockets. “This won't be an problem will it?”

“No, you're right, he'll learn the truth soon.”

Derek nodded once, his jaw still tight, his eyes cold and tight around the edges. He left the room and Stiles collapsed down on the bed shutting his eyes. Stiles didn't know how long he was sat there but he opened his eyes when Lydia walked in with a bottle of beer.

“You look like shit.”

“Feel like it,” he mumbled. “He calls him dada.”

“We heard,” she murmured. 

“It feels right,” Stiles whispered. Lydia met his eyes and reached over taking his hand into hers. “But – but we can't.”

“Sacrificing, always so self sacrificing,” Lydia said softly. “When will you stop and see the picture laid out in front of you? This perfect picture and you keep turning it over, so scared of the little things that could ruin it.”

Stiles looked at her surprised. Lydia's lips pressed together into a tight white line before she straightened her back exhaling harshly.

“You need to get a grip on this head of yours, listen to what your heart is saying. Stop sacrificing everything. If you want me to find you a date, I will, I'll find you a ton. But stop it, stop it now,” she warned, her hand a vice around the back of his neck. Stiles nodded once and she left him to it. He took a moment to compose himself before leaving the bedroom and returning to the party. Jamie was in his arms before he knew it and he curled up with him in the couch. His lips pressed to his forehead and he concentrated on him and desperately fought to ignore the heat of eyes on him. Just one in particular.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh they're so frustrating aren't they? Just want to bang their heads together and lock them in a cupboard. 
> 
> I've also made nearly everyone a little gay and I don't care.


	8. Chapter 8

It's two months after Jamie's first birthday that he decides the time is right to start walking on his own. By that he means startling Stiles to cover himself in coffee when he notices him toddling along the floor towards the television first thing in the morning. Stiles hissed in delight grabbing his phone and pressing record as he backed towards Derek's door and hammered on it.

“What?!” he grunted, opening the bedroom door looking pissed and tired.

“Look, look, look,” he repeated, pointing at Jamie walking like Bambi taking his first steps. “My baby is taking his first steps! Guaranteed it is half seven in the morning and you look angry but...look!”

Derek rolled his eyes but smiled a small smile all the same watching him. Stiles was too hyper to think about anything else as he continued to record him. Jamie was done once he fell onto his bottom and looked up at him smiling. He stopped the recording and immediately sent it to everyone. The time didn't matter, this was never going to happen again. Stiles bent down picking him up and pressed kisses to his nose and hair in delight. Derek was in the kitchen making coffee as he fussed over him and cuddled him close to him. 

Stiles glanced at Derek's back, the tattoo on his back dark and potent as he looked over it. He bit his lip hard and willed himself not to look. His eyes focused instead on Jamie. Looking never helped, not when he was trying so hard to forget his feelings. Move on with his life. Not that anyone understood that. They called if a sacrifice, defiance, ignoring the clear picture. Stiles saw it as taking precautions because as much as he wanted Derek, craved him more than anything. There was too many 'what ifs' and Stiles had too much bad luck to see anything good come out of what he really wants. 

It's why he finally broke down. Turned to Lydia instead of going out there and doing it on his own. It was a blind date and that terrified him. Stiles hadn't told Derek yet and instead was keeping hush hush that his date was this Saturday. In all honesty he was terrified about his reaction. Would it be good or would it be bad? He had no way of knowing. Derek went about his business drinking coffee and making bacon as he cuddled Jamie close to his chest. 

“Dada, down,” he insisted. Stiles let him go and smiled watching him walk on unsteady feet around the living room. There was no stopping him now and he grinned down in his lap. He'd come such a long way. Stiles gets dressed for work and gets Jamie into his stroller with his thoughts all over the place. Derek barely acknowledged him when he finally left dropping Jamie off at nursery.

“Have a nice day,” Heather called to him, her hand tucked her hair behind her ear with a gentle smile. Stiles smiled in return but gave nothing back as he walked away. Danny was serving the first morning customers when he walked in and nodded a greeting.

“You look distracted man, you okay?”

“Yeah, just a cluttered head, can't think straight at all.”

“Why?”

“I, um, I have a date on Saturday,” he muttered. Danny paused in the process of wiping down the sides to look at him shocked. 

“Seriously?”

“Yeah.”

“Wow, I never thought I'd see the day, Stiles Stilinski...going on a date,” Danny cried so he flushed flipping the finger at him. There was a cough behind them and they turned to see Laura stood there looking between them. Stiles internally swore looking at her clipped expression, her arms folded over her chest, her eyes dark with emotion. She was every bit the stern faced business woman and he swallowed hard glancing at Danny. 

“Stiles, a word,” she called to him. 

“Fuck,” he muttered. “This is your fault!”

Danny bit a lip and held his hands up backing away. Stiles dropped the cloth he was holding and walked into the office. The door clicked closed and he flinched a little at the loud noise. 

“You're dating,” Laura stated slowly. 

“Well technically not yet, I have a date. This weekend. It's a blind one, Lydia's set me up. Rather gleefully actually,” he muttered. His hands wrung together and he fought not to meet her eye contact. His stomach was in his knots over this.

“Does my brother know?”

“No,” Stiles protested quickly. “Well – well not yet anyway.”

Laura raised her eyebrows at him surprised and he shrank back feeling a pinch of guilt. Why he did, he didn't know. “I'm surprised. You were adamant you were not going to date and now you are dating. Why? What changed it?”

“I, um, I don't know. Just...a need, really. I better get back to work. I'm sure you can ask Lydia the details, since you two have each others numbers now,” Stiles frowned. The idea of them two talking about him upset his stomach and he stood getting out of there as quick as he could. Danny raised his eyebrows at him questioningly once he joined him.

“Women are strange.”

“That I can agree to,” Danny said, slapping his back hard so he fell forward only a little. Stiles wasn't worried Laura would tell Derek. He knew she'd leave that job all to him and he kept his head down most of the day working. 

In the back of his mind, he couldn't wait to get home. To get a hot shower, warm food, and a cuddle from Jamie before he went to sleep. Life wasn't kind like that and the moment he got home, Derek wanted to ambush him. His forehead was crinkled and he frowned sitting on the couch, his arms folded over his chest as he contemplated something. Stiles set Jamie on his feet and watched amazed as he toddled off towards Derek.

“Dada!” he cried gleefully reaching for Derek. Stiles bit his lip hard enough to hurt as he pushed the stroller against the wall. It was just a simple word and his chest ached fiercely from it. Not from jealously or anger but from pure and needless want. It was perfect, too perfect. Especially when Derek's eyes lit up and he hugged him to his chest. His hand smoothing over Jamie's dark hair while he whispered to him about his day. Jamie's smile never dimmed when he leaned against him and listened to him intently. 

Stiles rubbed his chest feeling the ache there and hating it. His hand gripped the fridge door as he yanked it open and looked in at the contents. 

“I got an interesting message from Laura.”

Stiles turned suddenly gripping the mince and staring at Derek still holding Jamie. He was now stood in the kitchen and his expression looked pinched. 

“Oh?”

“Yeah, she said you'd have something to tell me.”

Stiles licked his bottom lip slowly turning back around to close the fridge door. His eyes shut and he cursed Laura to the depths of hell. 

“It's nothing really, just, you know, just got a date this Saturday.”

It's silent behind him and he hates it. Hates it so much he turns to see Derek no longer looking at him but at Jamie still settled in his arms and sucking on his pacifier. 

“Don't worry, I won't ask you to babysit. Jamie's going with Scott and Isaac, they opted to babysit him together. You know since Isaac is now Scott's new room mate.” 

“I'd babysit him, I don't mind.”

“No, no, you don't have to, plus they really want to. It's really odd. I think they could possibly be screwing and want to steal my baby to adopt,” he said jokingly. It lay flat though when he realized Derek refused to look at him. “It's a blind date.”

Derek frowned turning his head to look at him and he raised an eyebrow. “You're going on a date with someone you've never met?”

“Well, Lydia is setting me up. I kinda trust her judgment but I don't at the same time. She has a knack for choosing guys suitable for her but who knows! He's coming here.”

“Here?” Derek murmured slowly. “Knocking on the door and picking you up?”

“Yeah,” he murmured, getting out a frying pan. “Little old fashioned but I guess it means if he doesn't turn up then I'm not stood in a restaurant all alone. Now that's embarrassing. Lydia has given him the address and I promise if he turns out to be a psycho, you can kill him for me.”

“Right,” Derek murmured softly. “I can make do on that promise.”

Stiles eyed him carefully as he placed Jamie on the floor and brushed a hand through his hair before Jamie left them to it. He leaned against the counter watching him as he cooked the mince for dinner. 

“You're dating now,” Derek commented slowly, his tongue tracing his bottom lip. “That's a surprise.”

“Yeah, well, got to get out into the world. Try new things, see new stuff, meet new people. I'm hopeless on my own so Lydia is helping me out. Why...there isn't a problem is there?” he tested. Stiles poked the cooking mince listening to the quiet snort. He looked up to see tension in his shoulders, his hands were clamped on his biceps hard. 

“Problem? No, I'm sure you'll have a lovely evening,” he said with a false smile. Stiles watched him leave and jumped a little when the bedroom door slammed hard behind him. Jamie made a soft noise of confusion from the living room. 

“Fuck,” he whispered. 

Derek didn't come out for dinner and he sat with Jamie eating his and tasting nothing. It was bland in his mouth and it was like a rock had formed in his throat and stomach. Stiles was sure it couldn't get any worse but it did. To say Derek was hostile and tense was an understatement of sorts. There was a tick to his jaw when they spoke and he brought up his date somehow or someway. Asking questions, wanting to know where they may be going. Did he know what he looked like? Did he really want to meet a guy he had never met before?

It was all tiring and Stiles was half ready to shove his head into the oven and bake his head by the time Saturday came. The nerves kept Stiles up half the night as he tossed and turned thinking of what was to come. It was half three when he decided to get up and make hot milk. The only sound in the apartment was the tick of the clock once he stepped out and wrapped his jacket around him tighter. Stiles glanced at Derek's door for a half a moment before he set out getting a saucepan and milk. 

“Can't sleep either.”

Stiles jumped spinning on the spot to see Derek awake and stood in the kitchen with him. There was bags underneath his eyes and a grimness to his expression.

“Want some hot milk? I'm adding chocolate to it so it's not too yucky.”

“Sure.”

Stiles poured it into two of the mugs before sitting down on the couch and taking a soft sip. “So what's plaguing your mind?”

“I don't want to talk about it,” Derek murmured, taking a seat next to him and shutting his eyes. “What about you?”

“Insomnia, or whatever, I don't know. My mind won't settle, you know? Million and one thoughts playing on my mind. Partly because tonight is the night and do you know how long it's been since I dated someone. I mean I haven't dated someone in years. Matthew and I, we were fuck buddies. Only interested in each other for sex, heat sex mainly, but still sex. This is a date.”

“Neither have I,” Derek replied softly. “Dated I mean. It's been a long time.”

“Who was your last?”

“Jennifer. She seemed normal, nice, pretty. What I wanted really, I met her on the subway. We swapped numbers, got chatting, she seemed...great. Different from my last girlfriend but...but I didn't see her true colors. The ones she was hiding underneath the charm and humor and good looks. To see the ugliness underneath. After a while they started to come out. She was controlling, manipulative, wanted wealth, power, fame, anything higher than she already have.”

“Holy shit,” Stiles breathed. “Well we've all got an ex from hell.”

“She's not my ex from hell. I have an ex from hell,” Derek murmured cryptically. 

“Oh?”

“That's a story for another time.”

Stiles blinked but didn't press the issue as he drank and sat back. 

“I've never had a serious relationship,” he admitted. “I wasn't exactly bachelor number one at high school or college even. Girls, guys, they liked me because I was smart and witty, sometimes, but relationships. Not really. Couple of dates now and again...it always ended in sex. Surprised I didn't end up pregnant sooner.”

“I thought heats could only get you pregnant.”

“Myth, such a myth, us omegas can get pregnant anytime. Heats are when we are most fertile and all we can think about is sex, sex, sex, oh and sex. God it's a messy time but the result at the end of it, without condoms and pills, is a guarantee bun in the oven. If you're fertile of course.” 

“Why don't you have heats?”

“Pills,” Stiles answered honestly. “I haven't had a heat in over a year.”

“What?” Derek exclaimed shocked. “That's dangerous!”

“Oh come on, I don't need the lecture, alright? It's not dangerous, it just – it just means that my fertility isn't as good and that when I have my heat...it could extend longer than usual. Plus it could mean I'll be a bit more violent and volatile.”

“Prolonging it isn't going to help.”

“Who the hell is going to help me?” Stiles demanded. Derek swallowed looking away from him when he met his eyes. “Huh, I have a baby to take care of and no partner. Heats can last days, days of nothing but sex and lots of it. Or dripping in my own juices desperate for it. Can't exactly have a heat when I have a baby around me.”

“That's what friends are for, family, people to take care of Jamie while you take care of yourself...”

“I don't need the lecture,” he muttered, shutting his eyes and leaning his head back. “I'll call off them eventually. Hey, maybe I'll find a date willing to fuck me through one!”

Derek gulped the rest of his drink before standing and walking away from him. Stiles watched silently as he tossed it into the sink before turning back to him void of expression. 

“Maybe you will, maybe you won't, but prolonging it isn't going to help in the long run.”

“It's not your problem.”

“Yeah,” Derek murmured, his hand rubbing through his hair before he walked into the bedroom yet again. The door clicked closed leaving him alone and with his thoughts and his heart screaming at him. 

*

Derek isn't jealous. 

He's trying to tell himself that, trying to explain away the anger, the bitterness, the frustration of the man he's hopelessly fallen for dating another. It's not working as well as he had hoped and he still feels the horrible blank swirling mess of it. It doesn't fade from his chest and stomach when he goes about his day. Not when Stiles will be out tonight with a guy he doesn't know, the other factor being the apartment will be empty without them there. Derek tries his best not to think about whether or not Stiles will bring him home. 

“It's not jealously,” he cried loudly. Laura smirked as she topped up his beer and nodded.

“Yes it is, you're practically green! It's not a nice color on you, you don't suit green, not with them eyebrows.”

“Fuck you.”

“I'm not into incest but if we weren't related...maybe,” she whispered. 

Derek scoffed in disgust and pushed her away from him. “You're vile.”

“Whatever, you're still jealous. Why don't you stop being such a pathetic excuse of a man and go do something about it. Lydia only set him up so he'd realize what an idiot he's being! Plus to make you jealous.”

“What!?”

“I know, right? When I heard...I think she made me want her more.”

“I hate you so much.”

Laura grinned reaching out to ruffle his hair. Derek smacked her hand away and closed his eyes with a heavy sigh. 

“You two idiots are giving me more gray hairs than I need. Seriously, toothache would be better than watching the two of you pine and want each other. You're a pussy and he's a scared child...who has a child. It's ridiculous! I am ashamed to call you my brother, my brother would go out there and get what he wants.”

“What he wants doesn't want him back.”

“Bullshit,” Laura laughed harshly. “The biggest pile of bullshit I have ever heard. Derek, he wants you, oh he wants you bad, but he's scared. Scared because he's got a kid and with that comes commitment. Commitment of the highest kind.”

Derek sighed deeply and shut his eyes. “Well he has his date tonight so lets see how that goes first shall we?”

“You're going to sabotage it aren't you?” she murmured.

“No, I'm going to be polite.”

“Polite? You wouldn't know polite if it hit you in the balls! I know you well enough to let this slip through those fingers.”

Derek refused to answer her and simply drank his beer till it was gone and he could go home. Stiles was already in the apartment and was making Jamie dinner.

“Hey, you want some?”

“No, I'm okay,” he refused sitting on the couch. Jamie smiled at him from where he was sitting on the couch clutching Blue. “Hey, pup.”

“Hi, Dada,” Jamie greeted. Derek tugged him into his lap wanting him close and smiling when he rest his head on his chest. 

“Scott and Isaac are going to be late picking him up. So I'll probably be gone by then so do you mind looking after him until they come and get him?” Stiles pleaded, hands clasped together. Derek nodded slowly in agreement, his eyes flicking down to Jamie who looked back at him. 

“I bet if I could read your mind...you'd be pleading with me to save you,” he whispered. Jamie pouted reaching up to touch his cheek with his hand. Derek smiled grabbing his hand and pressing a soft kiss to his palm. It was easy to be affectionate with him. 

“Okay, monkey face, dinner time,” Stiles called. Derek held him close as he carried him over and sat him in his high chair. “I'm going to get a shower, watch him?”

“Sure, go,” he muttered, looking over his shoulder to watch him hurry away. Jamie made a small sound eating the spaghetti with his hands. 

“You're so greedy and messy,” he muttered, pulling a strand of spaghetti out of his hair. Jamie laughed making a grab for his hands. “Your daddy has only just bathed you as well.” 

“No,” Jamie laughed. Derek shook his head at him amused and watched as he ate his dinner and listened to the sounds of the shower. His stomach twisted and turned at the idea of the date he couldn't hope to ignore. Jamie was done and cleaned up by the time Stiles was showered. 

What he didn't expect was a knock on the door with Stiles still getting dressed. Jamie looked away from the evening cartoons to stare at the door confused. 

“Oh my god, he's early,” Stiles hissed appearing at the bedroom door. He was half dressed, his hair still damp, his chest on display. Derek took that moment to stare, taking in the flat chest and slight abs, the hair trailing down his midriff. It was a very pretty sight and he swallowed the lump in his throat hard. Stiles rushed to the door peeking through the peep hole and hissed through his teeth yanking it open. Derek craned his head taking in the sight of him. 

“Hi, hey,” Stiles greeted, his hand waving once like a big dork. “It's Marcus, right?”

“Yeah, you must be Stiles, this is, this is quite a greeting,” Marcus said, his eyes tracking down his body slowly and appreciatively. Derek gritted his teeth hard, it was hard to resist the urge to shove Marcus' face very hard into a wall and slam the door shut. Marcus was tall, well dressed, and held a smug smile. His hair was a clash of blond and brown, his eyes a light shade of brown, and he had a dimple in his left cheek. It was disgusting. 

“If this is you now, I wonder what you'll be like without the pants,” Marcus murmured suggestively. Derek paused in his assessment to drop his head back and come to one final conclusion about the smug Marcus. 

**Dickhead.**

“You're early, I'm still getting dressed. Um, so just wait here for five minutes. This is, um, this is Derek, my room mate, and this is my son, Jamie, did Lydia tell you?” Stiles said, his hands gesturing at the pair of them.

“Oh, yeah, she did. Hey fella,” he said to Jamie with a big false grin. Jamie stared back disgruntled and wide eyed. Stiles smiled faintly before he rushed away to the bedroom to continue getting dressed. 

“How do you get anything done around here with a catch like that?”

Derek raised his eyebrows at him slowly and sighed hard looking away. Jamie crawled into his lap, his hand fisting his shirt as he stared at Marcus confused. 

“Hey,” Marcus whispered, inching closer to him. “You know the guy well, you know being his room mate and all, you got any tips?”

“Tips?” Derek responded flatly.

“Like to get to know him, be the perfect date, what does he like, what does he hate?” he said faintly.

Derek stroked his hand down Jamie's back slowly looking up at him considering. There was sincerity in his eyes but Derek knew what he was after. He was after sex and Stiles didn't deserve that. Plus his jealously was roaring inside of him so viciously he finally listened to it.

“Sure, yeah, tips. Don't let him pay for anything, at all, he's prideful like that. Likes to pay for things. You know the type,” he murmured in a low voice.

“Really?” Marcus whispered surprised. 

“Oh yeah. Don't forget to talk about yourself. He really likes that, people who talk about their successes, their lives, he's a very good listener. Also, he likes pet names.”

“Pet names?”

“Loves them!” he muttered. Marcus' eyes widened pulling back to nod. Stiles came out and Derek bit his cheek hard. He looked good, too good, he was wearing a crisp white shirt, a black waistcoat covering it perfectly. His pants were tight fitting and shaped his ass perfectly. 

“Wow,” Marcus whistled. “You look good, baby doll.”

Derek pressed his lips together hard to stop the bark of laughter threatening to come out. Stiles raised his eyebrows at the endearment but didn't say anything in response. 

“Bye baby, I'll see you tomorrow. Be very good for Uncle Scott,” Stiles whispered to Jamie and pressed kisses to his hair. He looked at him finally. “See you later.”

“Later,” Derek murmured looking into his eyes. Stiles swallowed pulling back and grabbed his jacket walking out the front door. 

Derek would be a liar if he said it didn't hurt, because it did. It was a painful pang as he sat there and stared down at Jamie. 

“That Jamie was something called an absolute moron. Yes?”

“Yes,” Jamie repeated.

Derek held up his hand and smirked when Jamie slapped his in a clumsy high five. Scott and Isaac didn't take too long to turn up bickering.

“Are you fucking him yet?” Derek questioned Isaac who flushed red and shook his head very quickly. He smirked pushing the baby bag into his arms and held the front door open as they walked out and left. 

The apartment was quiet and he exhaled harshly looking up at the ceiling. It would be hours before Stiles returned and he opted for a shower to clear his head. The water was perfectly warm as it ran over the top of his head and he scrubbed his hands over his face slowly. Waiting was the torturous part. Not knowing if his 'tips' would work in favor or tragically. They were the worst tips ever and he knew Stiles was going to be severely pissed about it. 

Derek dressed in sweats and nothing else as he got a beer out of the fridge and took a seat. 

“Stupid fucker,” he mumbled thinking of Marcus' face. The beer was cold and sharp on his tongue as he swallowed it down. His thumb pressed on the control till he found Shaun of the Dead and left it on. It was halfway through the film when his phone buzzed with an incoming call.

“Laura,” he answered.

“Has he gone on his date and did you sabotage it?”

“Yes and I don't know yet.”

Laura laughed hard and he pulled the phone away from his ear with a resigned sigh.

“There's my little brother. Oh please, please, tell me what you did.”

“Gave some not so helpful tips for the guy. Hopefully it shouldn't work in his favor.”

“Oh how evil! I love it!”

“He's going to find out, Laura, and he'll be pissed.”

“Oh let him be, you can soothe him with those lips and hands.”

“Goodbye, Laura,” he announced hanging up on her laughing. He tossed his phone aside and shut his eyes exposing his head back. Time seemed to tick by slowly as he waited up and distracted himself with the television and staring at the clock. 

It was around quarter to ten when he was getting his third beer out of the fridge that he heard commotion out in the hallway. The key scraping the lock and what appeared to be a very pissed off Stiles Stilinski slamming the front door closed. There was a flush of pink to his cheeks and his eyes were wild as he stood there staring at him. 

“You're back early -”

“Shut the fuck up,” Stiles interrupted breathing hard. “Learned something very, very, interesting tonight. On what was my first date in years, you know with an attractive guy. The same guy who for once didn't mind I had a one year old. Who let me pay for everything. Everything! From the cab fare, the meal, the drinks, the cab fare back here! On top of that I was getting him calling me babe, sweetheart, baby doll, darling, every fucking pet name under the sun. I was ready to strangle him! Oh no, but that's not all, not when he was talking about himself. His every fucking achievement and about how rich he was and beautiful and how he owned his own house!”

“So when I finally ask him what the fuck is going on. He tells me he learned some very interesting tips from my so called room mate. Tips that ruined my first image of him and made me realize what a total dick he actually was,” Stiles ranted pacing the floor.

“Well, at least you saw his true colors.”

“That is not the point, you fucking asshole!” Stiles shouted twirling towards him. His expression furious as he pointed at him. “You ruined it! You ruined the one date I had in years! Why?!”

“I'm sorry I ruined...” Derek started trailing off when he scoffed shaking his head.

“No, no, I don't want your apologies, Derek, you can shove that apology up your asshole. I want to know why you sabotaged my date! For no good reason! Why, tell me why you did it,” Stiles shouted, his hands shoving at his chest hard enough for him to stumble back. Derek gritted his teeth hard enough to hurt, his hands wrapping around Stiles' wrists as he shoved him back till he hit the wall. The pained gasp arousing when he pinned him there and stared into his eyes. The brown of them dark in the dim light of the apartment. 

“You want to know why I told that absolute dickhead tips that would ruin the night. I did it because I knew he only wanted one thing from you, he wanted sex. You deserve more and better than an asshole thinking about that and himself.”

Stiles breathed harshly out of his nose staring at him, his jaw working as he licked his lips and shook his head. 

“You're lying, I heard that extra little thump in your heart there. Plus your pupils dilated. Why are you lying?!”

“I'm not lying!” he protested.

“Yes, yes you are. I can tell!” Stiles cried, his hands struggling against him as he tried to get him off. Derek pushed back pinning him there harder. 

“I'm not lying, he was a moron, Stiles, he didn't deserve you.”

“I would have liked to decide that myself without your help!” 

“Well tough shit, I did, it's happened, and it succeeded.”

“Oh yeah and I better you're feeling so freaking proud of yourself,” Stiles hissed at him. His breathing shaky as his hands trembled underneath him and he knew it was from the emotions. The anger, the frustration, and anything else boiling under Stiles' skin. “You couldn't have let it lie could you? Had to worm yourself in and ruin it!” 

His own frustration and his own anger finally won. “Yeah, yeah I did, and I'm glad I did!”

“You're an absolute dick!” Stiles shouted back at him. His squirming worked as he managed to get away from him and shove him back. “Why can't you just tell me the truth?”

“Fine,” he yelled, stepping into his personal space so he stepped back only a little. “You want to know why I gave him shit tips and I'm glad I did? Because I was jealous. Jealous that you actually thought about going on a date with some stranger. Some guy you hadn't even met! You'll go out on a date with some fucking guy but you'll call a kiss between us a mistake. I don't regret what I did, hate me for it, I don't care.” 

It shut Stiles up for one and he felt a weight lift off his chest at the confession. Stiles exhaled slowly staring at him stunned.

“That's the truth, all of it, happy now?”

“No,” Stiles protested. “No, I'm so far from happy. I don't think I know what it is. I went on this date so I could forget about you, about that fucking kiss, about everything. Not that I thought it would work but...I wanted to try. I wanted to do something! To do something and try to move on because it hurts, it really hurts, I'm sick of -”

He didn't know what made him do it, to step in and grip the back of his neck to kiss him hard. His lips moving against his as the speech cut off and he relented into him. Stiles' hands finding purchase on his bare chest, his fingers scraping along the skin so he shivered in response. 

“Derek, we can't...” Stiles whispered against his lips.

“Yes, we can,” he murmured softly. His body moving his so they collided against the wall and he worked a thigh in between his legs. Heat licked it's way up his spine as their lips pressed and moved together. Derek flicked his tongue against his chasing the taste of fruity wine and something sweeter. It was intoxicating and he wanted more. 

“Derek, I – I can't, Derek, oh my god, don't stop” he whispered, his hands clutching into his hair so he grunted at the pain and pleasure of it.

“It's okay, it's okay,” Derek whispered, hiking him up so his legs wound around his waist easily. He held his weight without an issue, his lips pressing against his jaw to nip and suck on the skin. Stiles panted exposing his throat, a sign of submission that appeased to him and to the wolf. 

“I'm going to take care of you,” Derek whispered. His teeth trailing across his adam's apple, the skin of his neck so he whimpered. Fingers dug into his shoulders so he smirked seeking his mouth and kissing him harder. Stiles was flushed, his eyes wide and spiked with lust and a want that had his cock twitching in it's pants. 

“Take me, make me yours,” Stiles pleaded breathlessly. The words shocked him and aroused him like a punch to the stomach. Derek pressed his forehead against his to look into his eyes and saw nothing but trust and want. It drove him forward pressing his lips against his in a soft but tender kiss, the result of it leaving Stiles trembling in his arms.

“Bedroom?” he whispered.

“Bedroom,” Stiles confirmed softly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, cliffhanger. It's a good one though. One that leaves you wanting more. 
> 
> Boom chicka wow wow...


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: PORN. 
> 
> So much sexual content and fluff and porn and sex and rimming. Just...yeah. 
> 
> Now, writing porn is not my strong point. So if this is shit, I am so sorry. Seriously. Just skim it and clap at the end. 
> 
> But if not, enjoy, you little perverts.

There had been some conclusions that Derek had come to for the end of the night. This was not one of them. Derek hadn't quite imagined pressing Stiles to their living room wall, his hands cupping his thighs to hold him up as he kissed him to the point of exhaustion. The enthusiasm and consent to it all had been a surprise and he groaned yanking him away to carry him into the bedroom. Derek dropped him onto his bed, Stiles groaning against the press of his lips, his fingers trailing down his chest so he shivered. 

“You're like a God, it's so unfair,” Stiles hissed breathlessly. His eyes were shining a beautiful gold in the darkness of the bedroom. The arousal was painful when it thrummed through him and he kissed his neck softly. The taste of his skin intoxicating when he trailed his lips down the softness before nipping it hard enough to draw out a gasp. Leaving his mark was the most he could do and it sent a shiver of possession running through him. His teeth set and he bit sucking the blood to the surface, his hands gripping his hips so he swore bucking underneath him.

“Derek, please, oh god,” Stiles chanted breathlessly, his nails dragging down his back so he growled kissing him hard. “I need you, please.”

“I got you, it's okay,” he murmured, pulling back to marvel at the clothes. “You have no idea how amazing you looked tonight. Wanted to smash his head into a door and keep you.”

“Should have,” Stiles whispered. Derek smirked undoing the waistcoat and flinging it over his shoulder before undoing the small white buttons of the shirt. Pale skin and rosy nipples appeared and he groaned low in his throat pushing him down. Stiles' breathing was shaky when he ducked his head pressing his lips to his right nipple.

“Oh fuck!”

“You like that,” Derek murmured thoughtfully. His tongue circled the nub slowly and he sucked hard feeling him shiver and moan in response. The sensitivity of them turned him on like he wouldn't believe and he took his time sucking and nibbling on his nipples. Stiles was rock hard in his pants and he pulled back in surprise when he growled shoving him.

“I need you to fuck me!” he pleaded.

“Foreplay is important,” Derek counteracted. Stiles whined, his eyes flashing when he kissed him slow and teasingly, his hands undoing the button of his pants to shove them down. Derek eyed the briefs and his mouth watered at the strain of his erection. His fingers stroked across the material.

“Derek...” Stiles whispered, head thrown back, hands fisted into the sheets in desperation. 

“My desperate omega,” he murmured. Derek paid particular interest to his throat as he kissed it and sucked on the pale softness till it was blooming in marks. “I'm going to take care of you, fuck you slowly, then hard, and every way till you know nothing but my name. Just my name.”

“Oh my god,” Stiles whispered, hands sliding up his chest to cup his neck with gentle fingers. Derek hummed kissing his fingers one by one so he smiled softly up at him. His mission was to kiss every inch of his skin as he nuzzled the inside of his wrist and pressed soft kisses up his arm. 

“Here I was imagining rough and dirty sex...” Stiles whispered and whimpered when he kissed the crease of his elbow.

“Plenty of time for that.”

“Yeah,” he said softly. Derek moved to slowly kiss down his chest and kiss over his stomach. His hands gripped his hips a little tighter before he moved back and hooked his fingers in to tug his briefs down and throw them aside. 

“You're beautiful,” he murmured admiring him. Stiles swore covering his face and he shook his head tugging them away to stare into his eyes. “You are.”

“How about you stop complimenting me and fuck me instead?”

“So bossy,” he muttered, teeth nipping the side of his neck in punishment. Stiles whined turning his head and seeking more. “So impatient, good things come to those who wait.”

“Fuck waiting, I think we've waited long enough!” Stiles cried. 

“Do you want me to gag you, because I will,” he hissed softly into his ear. Derek bit along the shell gently listening to Stiles' breath stutter as he tried to breathe in and out calmly. Teasing him was the best bit and he trailed his fingers down his chest, his stomach, towards his pelvis with intent. Stiles bit his lip hard meeting his eyes before he surged upwards and kissed him hard. His lips fitting against his firmly and desperately. He pulled back pulling off his own sweats so he too was naked.

“Wow...” Stiles whispered, his eyes tracking him. “You're naked.”

“Good observation.”

“Oh wow, this is happening,” he murmured looking a little dazed. Derek huffed softly amused and moved to open his drawer. The lube was barely open and the condom had been there for months. Stiles eyed them and smirked up at him. 

“Been preparing for this?”

“Shut up,” he murmured. Derek lay him flat and spread his legs slowly taking him in and smiling at the flush on his cheeks. Even that was noticeable in the darkness. His hands wrapped around the hard length of him and he rubbed his thumb over the head. Stiles was already wet and dripping pre-come. 

“Oh, fuck, fuck, fuck,” he chanted. “Derek, please!”

Derek smiled pressing a kiss to his kneecap before grabbing the lube and popping it open to lather it onto his fingers. He took him into his mouth, his tongue circling the head and stroking down the length. His other hand was occupied when he circled the rim of his ass before gently easing one finger inside of him. Stiles swore loudly, his voice echoing in the bedroom at the intrusion. Derek took his time sucking and bobbing his head up and down the length, his fingers working him open so he slipped a second one inside of him.

Stiles was panting above him, his fingers tugging on his hair insistently until he pushed at his head. “No, not yet, want you inside of me. Please, Derek, please.”

“You ready?” he whispered, the third finger easing into the tightness of his hole. Stiles moaned greedily nodding as he fucked him slowly with his fingers before removing them. “You're so wet, so wet for me, like a girl...”

“Shut the fuck up,” Stiles muttered, his hand snatched the condom when he tore it open with his teeth and slid it onto his cock. Stiles took control gripping the back of his neck and tugging him so his back smacked against the headboard. It was unbelievably hot and he groaned watching him wrap his arms around his neck and level to sink down. The heat of it was amazing and he groaned tossing his head back. 

“Stiles...” 

His hands palmed his ass cheeks as he waited for Stiles to adjust to his cock deep up inside of him. Stiles lifted his chin kissing him into distraction before he moved and rocked his hips up and down.

“You have no – no idea how good you feel,” Derek admitted, his nails digging into the flesh of his ass to get him moving. Stiles laughed breathlessly rocking harder and groaning when he hit that sweet spot inside of him. 

It was enough but not enough, it was all rolled into one when he switched their positions and slammed him down onto his back. Stiles laughed out a groan and kissed him greedily. Derek thrust into him harder, the bed squeaking underneath their movements when they found a rhythm and stuck to it. 

“Touch me, Derek,” he pleaded.

Derek wrapped a hand around the untouched cock and jerked him off nice and slowly. Stiles moaned, his face pressing against his neck, his hands digging into the muscles of his back while he brought him off. It didn't take long and he watched in awe as he climaxed. His face relaxed in arousal while his come hit his stomach and hand, his body a tight hot clench around his own cock. It was beautiful and he continued to thrust into his tired and pliant body. 

“Come on,” Stiles encouraged, his hands pressing against his ass cheeks to press him deeper. His hands encouraging him as Derek framed his head with his arms and pounded into his body. The sharp slap of his hand against his ass cheek had him growling and biting into the side of his neck in warning. Stiles groaned breathing hot air against his cheek before it finally happened. It was waves of pure pleasure as he climaxed and collapsed on top of him tired and sated. 

“You big lump,” Stiles muttered, his finger poking his cheek. Derek rolled his eyes but moved off him to tug the condom off and dispose of it.

“Come here,” he mumbled, tugging him into his arms. Sweat and come clung to them as they lay wrapped up in each other on top of the covers. Stiles' eyes were closed and he breathed deeply in and out of his mouth. 

“That was – that was awesome, so awesome, god I've missed sex so much,” he whispered. Derek hummed in agreement getting out the packet of wet wipes from his drawer and handed some to Stiles. They cleaned themselves up and got under the bed covers for warmth and he automatically dragged Stiles towards him. He tucked his face into the warmth of his neck and inhaled deeply. The smell of sex and his own scent greeted him and he growled low pleased. It was exactly what he wanted and he lingered there happily. Stiles' breathing was slow and steady in his ear and he pulled back to look at him sleeping.

“Idiot,” he murmured affectionately. His fingers stroked over his sweaty hair while his eyes lingered on him and he ducked in pressing a kiss to the corner of his mouth. Stiles hummed in his sleep and unconsciously tucked himself closer to him. Derek wanted nothing more than to tuck his head closer to his shoulder and give him the bite. The bite that would seal them forever as mates and no one else could intervene. Derek knew they weren't ready for that just yet but he hoped it would happen sooner rather than later. 

*

Stiles woke up surrounded by warmth and an ache in his ass that would eventually fade. There was a warm heaviness to his back and he looked over his shoulder to peek at Derek fast asleep. The alarm clock informed him it was nearly half five and his bladder was protesting something awful. He bit his lip gently easing away from his arms to sit up and tug Derek's sweat pants towards him. Derek frowned in his sleep and tossed onto his back with a soft sigh. God, he was seriously beautiful. His mind faltered a little and his one and only conclusion out of this was there was no going back. This was it now. You can't just ignore sex like you can a drunken make out session. Stiles stumbled to the bathroom and relieved himself with a soft sigh. His eyes tracked himself in the mirror and he gaped at the marks still lingering on his neck. 

“Damn, Derek,” he murmured softly. He washed his hands quickly and swallowed needing a glass of water. His eyes burned in the low light of the kitchen and he gulped down the cold water till he was feeling refreshed and a little tired. Stiles returned with the water and paused in the doorway to see Derek awake and staring.

“That shits creepy,” he murmured walking over and climbing back into the bed. “Plus it's really warm in here.”

“Open a window,” he whispered, his hand stroking his ankle gently. Stiles hummed standing back up and pulling back the curtain to open the window. There was breeze against his bare chest and he turned away returning to Derek's warmth with a shiver. 

“Do you regret it?” Derek asked instantly. “I'd rather know now...”

Stiles licked his lips slowly lying back down to face him and shook his head quickly. “No, no, I don't regret it. I wouldn't have done it otherwise. I just didn't expect it.”

“Did I push you?” Derek frowned. 

“Into a wall? Yes. But into wanting this? No.”

“Smart ass,” Derek mumbled linking their hands together. Stiles smiled softly down at them and looked up meeting his eyes. He leaned in this time and initiated the kiss. It was soft and he cupped the back of his neck kissing him harder. Derek groaned sliding his hand to rest on his lower back as they shared soft kisses. 

“Fancy another round?” Stiles teased. Derek raised an eyebrow and moved sliding down his borrowed sweat pants and kicking his legs apart. Derek grabbed a second condom and slid it on. He still ached in the right places but the slow stretch of Derek pushing inside of him was the best feeling. Stiles moaned softly, his lips pressing against his ear adjusting to him. 

It was slower this time, the roll of his hips sending waves of pleasure every time he hit that deep spot deep inside of him. There was nothing quite like being pinned down, his hands intertwined with his, and looking into his eyes. Derek kissed him softly, his lips peppering his jaw, his nose, his neck, everywhere he could land them. Stiles' second orgasm of the night was achieved with Derek's mouth warm around his cock. He even swallowed. 

Stiles stayed in his arms, his legs firmly wrapped around his waist as they lay together in the afterglow. Derek's hand stroking through his hair so he hummed arching into the touch. 

“You know we need to talk right?”

“Yeah,” Derek sighed resignedly. “I thought it would be around the corner.”

“Sex is nice and distracting and...orgasms. But then comes real life, the stuff I was so scared about that I held off admitting how I really felt about you.”

“What like, commitment, being together, raising Jamie with you,” Derek spoke softly. “Like I've been doing just without the commitment and assurance that I want you and you alone.”

“Derek...”

Derek gripped the side of his face forcing him to meet his eyes. “The moment you came stumbling into my life and ruined it with – with big brown eyes. That was when I knew, I knew you'd screw me up.”

“I'm sorry about the eyes,” he whispered, a smile fighting it's way to the surface so he blushed squirming closer. He leaned in kissing him softly and pulled away with a small smile. It was early dawn and he could do with a couple more hours. Stiles tucked his head to his shoulder and held there shutting his eyes. Sleeping was easier than he assumed and he managed to get a couple of hours before he had to wake up. 

*

It was nearly ten when he finally emerged out of strange dreams to appease his growling stomach. Stiles stole Derek's sweatpants again and padded out of the bedroom to make some bacon. Bacon sounded amazing right now. What he didn't count on was Derek's stealth and lightness of foot when arms wrapped around his waist.

“Fuck, scare me half to death,” he mumbled, his head leaning against his. Derek huffed amused and kissed his neck so softly he shivered. “Want some?”

Derek hummed grabbing the spatula out of his hand and turning the stove off to pull him up onto the counter. His protests were unheard when he kissed him into silence and he groaned wrapping his arms around his neck. 

“Fuck, Derek,” he whispered, his head thrown back to expose his throat so he could kiss it. His cock ached in response to the actions and he easily forgot about the bacon still sizzling in the hot pan. Derek wasted no time dragging him back off the counter and turning to bend him over it. His pants were tugged down and he exhaled shakily knowing what was about to happen. 

It still shocked him when Derek's warm hands parted his cheeks and a warm tongue licked across the rim. It was so dirty and so wrong and he loved it. His cock twitched and he swore harshly, his forehead pressed to the cool granite. Hot air pulsed against his asshole and Stiles gripped the counter tighter moaning. Derek didn't hold back and pushed his face into his cheeks licking, slurping, his tongue pushing inside of him so he groaned loudly. Derek's hand moved reaching around to cup his balls and his cock, his fingers trailing across his perineum so his response was chocked off. 

It didn't take Derek long at all to jerk him off, his moan of surprise echoing against the cool granite. Derek's tongue flicked a final time against his sore and tender rim before he pulled back and yanked the sweatpants up. Stiles turned his head to look at his wet chin, his lips red and smug in a pleased smile.

“Morning.”

Stiles was unsteady on his poor legs and the cupboards were splashed with his come but he didn't care. Not when he tugged him closer and kissed him hard. He could taste himself on his mouth and tongue but he honestly didn't care. Derek cupped his ass sucking on his tongue until he was breathless and still heavily aroused.

“I'm going to be the corniest son of a bitch alive right now but fuck me...you're like a drug,” he whispered, his hands raking through Derek's hair. Derek smirked in response, his thumb stroking his cheek. 

“I know the feeling.”

“I mean it's not every morning, you get a morning rim job, like holy hell,” Stiles muttered. “I just want to fuck all day.

“Jamie,” Derek reminded him amused. Stiles hummed and nodded meeting his eyes. They remained in each others personal space. Derek pressing a kiss to his mouth every now and again.

“I want you to do something for me.”

“Hm, what?”

“Throw away the heat pills.”

That was something he didn't expect and he pulled back to look at him surprised. “That would mean I'd go on my heat. I'd be on it for days thinking of nothing but sex, I can get quite...violent during it. Sometimes, it depends. I have Jamie to think about.”

“Yeah, you also have yourself, there not good for you, Stiles, and something can be sorted for Jamie to be taken care of. You'd still see him and that's what friends are for.”

This was an argument he couldn't win even if he tried. Stiles sighed deeply but nodded moving away to get the pills out of the cupboard and to chuck them in the bin. 

“I guess that sort of makes it all official. I mean I know we had a muted conversation before you shoved your cock inside of me,” he said so Derek huffed out a laugh. “But I still feel scared, there's a reason I held back for so long, Derek, even when you were driving me crazy! What if we break up? What if it goes wrong? What if we aren't -”

Stiles whimpered against his lips when he drew him in and kissed him gently. His hands framing his jaw to nuzzle his mouth and hold him still. 

“I want you,” Derek muttered against his temple. “You drive me insane, in a good way, only a good way. I'm not good at spilling my feeling and putting it out there for the world to see. But I want you, only you.”

“Like...forever,” he murmured baffled.

Derek nosed at his neck and shoulder, the space in between being nuzzled and nipped at by his teeth so he understood. “Holy shit...the...bite. You want to give me...oh my god. But I'm damaged goods!”

“What?”

“I've had a baby with another man! Unbonded!”

“So?”

“In the eyes of everyone out there, I am damaged goods.”

“You're ridiculous.” 

“I'm telling the truth!” Stiles protested. Derek sighed deeply and rolled his eyes wrapping his arms around him in the shape of a hug. Stiles was grateful for that and he clung to him. The smell of his skin calming and he tucked his face inward to his neck inhaling deeply.

“You're not damaged good, this isn't the 1900's. You had a baby unbonded, yes, doesn't mean you're suddenly damaged. I want you, all of you. I want to raise Jamie with you.”

“You said you don't do relationships,” Stiles reminded him, his lips pressing under his eye. 

Derek cocked an eyebrow and nodded slowly in response. “Yeah, that's right, but then you moved in with your baby and ruined that.” 

“Sorry,” he whispered amused. “But I'm not really.”

Derek inhaled deeply pulling him up so he yelped wrapping his arms around his neck, his weight leaning into the hands cupping his ass. “Shower?”

“Oh a wet naked Derek? Sir, yes sir!”

He was carried to the shower and dropped onto the mat to be kissed softly. Derek turned the water on and he kicked the sweatpants away to stand under the warm stream. Stiles hummed when he joined him finally and his hands slid down his chest teasingly. 

“I've never been fucked in a shower before,” he whispered against his lips.

“There's a first time for everything,” Derek smirked. Stiles laughed, his back colliding with the cold tiles of the bathroom and he kissed him tentatively. He could taste the water against his lips and groaned when he turned him so his cheek pressed against them instead. His fingers were probing and he hissed in delight when they pressed up inside of him.

“Could finger you for hours,” Derek whispered into his ear. “Make you come untouched, just like this.”

Derek crooked his fingers stroking the bundle of nerves that had him crying out.

“No, no, let me,” Stiles pleaded turning and kissing him hard. Derek removed his hand and stepped out of the water for him to slide down to his knees. His mouth watered at the sight of his cock and he wrapped a hand around the length. His lips pressed against the head carefully, he sucked gently taking him into his mouth. 

Derek's head thudded against the wall in response and he groaned low shutting his eyes. His legs spreading slowly while his hands fit into his damp hair and Stiles couldn't hold back the groan. It felt too good to give him pleasure and he used both his hand and mouth to coax out the impending orgasm. 

“Stiles,” Derek breathed, his fingers tightening in his hair as he finally let go. Stiles swallowed every drop until it was gone and he rose up wiping his mouth. 

“Now that was fun!”

“You're ridiculous.”

“Oh pet names after a nice blow job, so classy,” he murmured, tugging him back under the water. Derek huffed kissing his forehead and he grinned grabbing the soap to clean themselves. It was the greatest shower he had ever had and twenty minutes later his hands and feet were wrinkled.

“Got to go pick up Jamie, want to come with?”

“Yeah.”

Stiles headed to his own bedroom and threw on a t-shirt and his jeans before looking in the mirror. The marks had faded by now and he couldn't help but feel a pang of loss over them. Derek was waiting in his leather jacket when he stepped out and grabbed his own jacket. 

“God, you're sexy,” he mumbled. Derek hummed walking towards him and captured his mouth once he leaned in. Arousal thrummed through him hot and heavy as they traced each others mouths with their lips and tongues. His back collided heavily with the locked front door and he swore clenching his eyes closed when Derek palmed his ass. His hands squeezing his cheeks so his cock twitched and he gently pushed him back.

“Derek, we can't, we need to get Jamie...” 

“I know, shit, sorry, I know,” he breathed. Stiles swallowed hard thinking of everything non arousing to will away the erection threatening to form. They stayed breathing in the same air before ultimately deciding to leave and head out to Scott's apartment before anything else happened. 

Scott answered the door looking between them and raising an eyebrow speculatively. 

“How did the date go?”

“It, well it failed, but the ending was rather good,” he muttered. “Where's my baby?”

“Dada!” Jamie screeched excitedly. 

“The ending? What does that mean?” Scott cried. Stiles smirked raising his eyebrows at Derek who shook his head looking away. 

Isaac gasped pointing between them. “They fucked!”

“Language!” he admonished, smacking the back of his head hard. Isaac winced and glared up at him but still continued to gesture. 

“You – you two – you had...you know, s.e.x,” he said for the sake of Jamie. 

“Yes,” Derek replied flatly. Stiles hauled Jamie to rest on his hip and Scott gaped while Isaac laughed gleefully. 

“Knew it would happen sooner or later,” he cried smugly. Stiles sighed heading to the door while Derek collected the bags and the stroller. 

“Does Lydia know?!”

“No, no one tells her but me, understood?” Stiles threatened. They nodded and he hummed turning his back on them to walk out of his apartment. “Oh my god, I have to tell Lydia and Laura. Please do it for me?”

“No way,” Derek muttered, his hands held out for Jamie to put him in his stroller. “That job is all yours. Consider it a gift.”

“I want a freaking refund,” he mumbled instead. Derek's eyes softened looking at him and he saw the intent before it happened and leaned in any way. The kiss was gentle and Stiles smiled against his lips before they parted. 

“I like I can do that now.”

“Me too,” Stiles replied honestly. His eyes flicked down to Jamie who was staring up at them amazed and he smiled noticing them watching him. “Looks like someone approves.”

“I think he approved way before we did.”

Stiles hummed believing him and looked at the elevator of the building as it arrived with a ding. His mind was buzzing with thoughts and he felt twitchy stood still. His eyes wouldn't stop looking over to Derek who occasionally looked back with a small smile. Stiles couldn't quite believe it was truly happening. Something he had held back for so long out of fear and self sacrifice. Not that they had completely disappeared, they were more of a prickle in the back of his mind. 

“Fancy Chinese tonight?”

“Sure,” Derek agreed. 

It was weird to go back to playing normal after their night and alone time. Jamie immediately made a beeline for toys once they were home and he could relax. He set the stroller against the wall and ran a hand through his hair watching him. Derek wrapped an arm around his waist and set his chin over his shoulder watching Jamie. 

“So, are we, you know, official?”

“Official?”

“Yeah, like boyfriend, partners, that kind of thing,” he said, turning in his arms to look at him. Derek frowned lifting his hand to brush his hair off his forehead. It was a soothing act. 

“We can be official, boyfriends, partners, whatever you want. I like one name though.”

“Yeah?”

“Mates.”

Stiles' head was buzzing and he swallowed hard. His hands pressed against the firmness of his stomach and he found himself unable to meet his eyes. 

“That – that is a big commitment, more than just being partners, Derek, that's life. Life, forever, till death do us part deal! You can't back out of it plus...plus sometimes it doesn't take and there's the ordeal of it after not taking. Plus, it's being mates! Plus it's me, like being with me for the rest of your life,” he ranted, his hands tightening on his top. Derek was frowning deeply, his hand cupping the back of his skull while he looked at him. “Derek, come on...”

“Why wouldn't I want to?”

“Because it's a big deal! Not something to be taken lightly. Plus it could be a lust filled mind thinking it's a great idea till it clears. You know a bond can only be broken through death or separation so severe...well I heard it can drive the other insane.”

“Stiles, it's not lust.”

“Oh my god,” he whispered. “You're not...”

“In love?”

“Holy shit!” he breathed, pressing closer to him. “Are you? Like for real? Holy shit, have you fallen in love with me?! Because I've never had someone fall in love with me, I mean having you, you of all people, fall in love with someone like me!”

“You're an idiot,” Derek scolded. “I think I could be.”

“You think?”

“Do I need to say it out loud?”

“Yes!” he laughed softly. “We're doing this, we're going to talk about feelings. Get it all out in the open! After one night of passionate love making.”

Derek huffed out a small laugh and his stomach fluttered at the sound. “Fine, I've never, never felt like this before. Not in a long time or with anyone like you.”

“Like you could love me?”

“Like I could love you,” Derek confirmed. 

Stiles leaned in kissing him and laughed softly against his lips when he tugged him closer. Happiness fluttered in his chest and he was desperate to cling on and keep it.

“I think the whole mates thing is a good idea, not for now, but it's something we can definitely look at. Something for the future.”

“Okay,” Derek nodded. Stiles couldn't hold back the smile and hummed pleased when he tugged him impossibly close and kissed him harder. His nose rubbed against his stubbled cheek and he shut his eyes basking in the glow of it all when he felt hands on his legs. Jamie had made his way over to them and stared upwards so they parted to stare back down. 

“Dada?” he said making eye contact with Derek. “Juice?”

“Juice, a man's got his duties,” Derek shrugged. Stiles closed his eyes with a bark of laughter and let go of him to reach down and pick Jamie up. Jamie smiled scrunching his face up when he tickled him. 

“I think we're going to be fine,” he murmured into Jamie's ear so he smiled touching his cheek in response.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is not the end at all. I have more of a plot to fill out and come on, you know me, well some of you do. I always flesh it out, add more, add more angst. 
> 
> So upcoming is...old faces returns, new faces come in, they deal with a new relationship, and a few...surprises. ;) 
> 
> Ha.


	10. Chapter 10

Derek was used to sleeping alone. He was used to a cold bed and the feeling of being alone in the morning and at night. So waking up in the morning to a warm weight next to him was better than he ever imagined. Especially when he could tug him closer and Stiles, even when he was sleeping, clung to him in response. It was no different this morning and he woke up early on Saturday morning tucked around Stiles. Stiles was sleeping peacefully and he glanced at the alarm informing him it was half six in the morning. Jamie wouldn't wake up for hours and he closed his eyes with a content sigh. Derek pressed a kiss to his warm bare shoulder before tugging his arms away slowly to climb out of the bed. His bladder ached with the need to pee and he looked over his shoulder watching Stiles sigh and starfish the bed still fast asleep. It was an endearing sight if anything and he moved out of the room to go and check on Jamie. It had been a mutual decision to turn Stiles' bedroom into a nursery for Jamie. He peered into the cot to see him spread out on his back sleeping, his pacifier hanging out of his mouth as he breathed deeply. 

It had been more than two weeks since that disastrous date and the inevitable night. Derek believed things had been going more than okay. Stiles told Laura and Lydia together at the cafe that their little mission succeeded. Laura's shriek of delight had apparently scared the customers and Lydia simply smirked. Stiles got around to telling his dad a couple of days after that.

“I knew it would happen eventually,” John Stilinski sighed to his son's amazement. “I'm glad you're happy, son. It's all I want.”

Derek went to the bathroom to relieve himself and splash cold water on his face. He returned to the warmth of the bed and huddled close to Stiles who sighed softly in his sleep. He pressed a kiss to his nose and forehead softly and smiled when he whined sleepily.

“Jerk, stop it,” he mumbled. Derek smiled against his temple and stroked a hand down his bare back. Stiles settled breathing warm air against his collarbone while he drifted in and out of a very light sleep. It was eight when he heard the sounds of Jamie stirring and he quickly left Stiles sleeping to attend to him.

“Dada,” Jamie greeted sleepily. His hair ruffled and his arms reached up for him. His arms wrapped around his neck and he clung on when he carried him out. Derek got him into his high chair and got out his cereal. It was a messy affair of Jamie eating his cheerios and squashing the banana slices he gave him in his hand. He was a little relieved when Stiles finally emerged out of the bedroom stumbling and bleary eyed. 

“Coffee,” Stiles yawned. “Hey, thanks for taking him this morning.”

“I was already awake.”

Stiles hummed walking over and pressing his lips against his. Derek kissed him back and let him get his coffee and morning bagel. He was sipping from his orange juice when he smelt it. It was a enticing sweet smell, fresh flowers, a sweetness in tea or a fruity drink. Derek inhaled deeply turning his head to look at Stiles buttering the bagel slowly. 

“Can you smell that?”

“Smell what?”

He moved sniffing the air till it landed on it's point of origin and he stared at Stiles surprised. Stiles paused when he ducked his head into his neck inhaling deeply and groaned stepping back. 

“Stiles, it's you, I think – you could be,” Derek gestured, his hand slapping over his nose because it was good. So good he wanted to pin Stiles down there and then to dwell in it. “Your heat, Stiles, you're going into heat.” 

“Shit!” he exclaimed before slapping a hand over his mouth. Jamie wasn't paying any attention to them and was busy poking at his cheerios. “I didn't think it would be this soon!”

“You've been holding it back for over a year.”

“Oh my god, oh my god!” he hissed, his fingers drumming on the counter. The scent of him would only get worse and more enticing. Soon Derek wouldn't be able to hold back from claiming him and Stiles wouldn't be able to think about anything else but sex. It was how it worked and he watched him glance worriedly at Jamie. 

“I'll fix it,” Derek spoke softly. “I'll call Laura, Lydia, Scott and Isaac. I'll get help for us, he'll be taken care of and you can still see him when you're in the cool down period. It'll be okay, I promise.”

“It'll be here sooner than we reckon.”

Derek kissed his forehead and he grabbed his cell phone walking away to make the calls. He didn't expect Laura to turn up an hour later with bags of stuff they would need. From food to lubricants and condoms and pills to stop pregnancy.

“Condoms?”

“They could work!”

“You know they don't, only if I wasn't going to knot him, which I probably will. Considering it's a heat,” he said, tossing them aside. Laura rolled her eyes at him. 

“Make sure you take these,” she said, shoving the box at Stiles. “I know you two are together but there's still no mating bite and it's been two weeks! No surprise babies please.”

“I'll take them, don't worry,” Stiles reassured her amused. 

“God, you do smell like you're going into heat...and fertile as hell,” she mused stepping towards him, her eyes blown a little. Derek growled at her in warning and she gasped shaking her head and stepping back. 

“Fuck, sorry, god, you omegas and your heats,” she said backing off. “Okay, so am I taking him now or what? Because he is well into his way into a full blown heat and I don't know if I leave now I can get back in time. I don't want you scarring the poor kid when you're doing it on the kitchen floor.”

“Laura!” he snapped. Stiles was blushing and looking away from them to watch Jamie playing on the living room floor. 

“I'm just saying! You know I'm right.”

“Take him now, it's better to be safe than sorry. I didn't expect it to come on quickly or so hard. Doctor did warn me the side effects coming off them would be extreme,” Stiles said, shoving a bag into her direction. “Make sure Lydia and Scott help out. Plus bring him around...”

“I'll tell you when it's safe to bring him around.” 

Stiles cuddled Jamie close peppering his head and face with kisses. Derek hugged him close and pressed a kiss to the top of his head before Laura took him away. 

“You know she'll take good care of him.”

Stiles sighed deeply leaning into him and shutting his eyes. “I know.”

Derek wrapped his arms securely around him and breathed in his scent deeply in and out. It was comforting and arousing mixed in with the tempting smell of his upcoming heat. Stiles tilted his head back to look at him and raised an eyebrow.

“Is that your phone or you just happy to see me?”

“Funny. I think we should get some more sleep, we're going to need our strength for tonight. I think you're right about this heat coming quicker than we expected.”

Stiles hummed in agreement leaning into him and Derek kissed his forehead softly and took his hand. Derek led him into the bedroom were they undressed down to their underwear before climbing into the bed. He buried his face into his hair and inhaled deeply before settling comfortably. This wouldn't be just Stiles' first heat in months. Derek hadn't spent a heat with an omega in years. 

*

Stiles woke up on fire. His skin was clammy and sticky to the touch, his forehead, lower back, and chest damp with sweat as he woke up gasping. It felt like fire was burning underneath his skin and his cock ached in his briefs. There was also the uncomfortable factor he was leaking and he could smell how wet he was. 

“Oh fuck!” he whimpered and moaned when a body covered his. Derek kissed him hard, his lips shushing him so he groaned pulling him closer. 

“Derek, please,” he pleaded, his body pressing impossibly close to his. Derek shushed him softly, his claws ripping apart his underwear so he was left naked. His fingers slid under his thighs to touch the slick coating them and he brought his fingers up to suck on. Stiles exhaled shakily watching him and gasped when Derek kissed him brutally hard. 

“Fill me up, please fuck me!” he cried out to the ceiling. Derek stroked a hand through his damp hair slowly, his other hand spreading his thighs wider so he was on display. 

“Going to take care of you, it's okay, it's okay, Stiles,” he reassured. Stiles squeezed his eyes shut, his teeth pressing into his bottom lip in response to the two fingers currently inside of him. They wriggled working him open and he cried out, his claws making an appearance when they tore into the pillow under his head. His wolf was closer to the surface than it would ever be when he snarled desperately. Derek responded lifting his head to look into his eyes and snarled in return. His eyes glowing a fierce red so he whined in submission arching his neck. 

Derek growled pleased, his teeth pressing into his neck so he worried the skin there. There was three fingers pressed inside of him and he whined tossing his head back and forth. It was clearly a sign for Derek who quickly removed them and grabbed his wrists. Stiles was yanked up to straddle his waist and Derek lined up pushing up inside of him.

“Yes, oh my god, yes,” he whispered, his eyes closing at the burn it created. It was perfect, his arms slid around his neck and he rocked his hips forcing him deeper. “Derek, harder!”

Stiles moaned low when Derek slammed him down onto his back and began thrusting inside of him. He tasted blood from where he bit into his lip hard enough to split the skin. Derek continued to pound into him, his hands gripping the headboard to do it. His hands dug into his back and he clenched feeling his climax rise within him. Stiles came untouched and breathed through his teeth at the sensitivity it brought on his body. 

“Knot me, fill me up, please,” Stiles pleaded breathlessly. Derek shushed him softly and he couldn't restrain the whimpers, the desperation. He gasped in relief once he felt that swell erupt inside of him and he pressed his face into his neck once it reached it's peak. Derek nuzzled his hair once they got into comfortable positions.

“Oh, wow,” he mumbled. Derek snorted reaching over to the bedside cabinet and popped one of the pills out. 

“Here, take this,” he murmured. Stiles closed his eyes feeling every inch of the knot inside of him, the come, the sweat, everything on his hypersensitive body. He swallowed the pill down with a glass of water.

“No surprise babies,” he whispered. 

“Not yet.”

“Oh, slow down there cowboy,” Stiles teased. “Isn't that a conversation for in the future?”

“I know,” Derek rolled his eyes. “Doesn't stop how I feel.”

Stiles hummed shutting his eyes and groaned when Derek rocked his hips a little. It was here self awareness came in and it would take up to twenty minutes even longer for the knot to die down. It had been so long without a heat that his body didn't know what it was doing. He only managed an hour sleep with the knot died down before his body prickled in pain and fire. Derek's lips were ice on his mouth and skin, a gentle caress as he was held down and pounded into. His ass ached and he was so sticky with come and sweat that he desperately craved a shower. The different positions helped when he was fucked on his back, his knees, when he rode him, against the wall, and even the shower. The pills were constantly taken and he was exhausted by the end of the third day. Stiles had seen Jamie four times since his heat started. During the times he was babbling and excitable and even if it was for short periods of time he was glad to see him. 

“Derek?” he whispered into the darkness of their bedroom. It was half past one and Derek's knot was still filling his ass as they lay on their sides. His back pressed to his chest as they waited and dozed.

“What?”

“What – what happened to your family?”

It was a sore subject, one Stiles hadn't dared approached till now. He knew they were dead, the last surviving members were Derek, Laura, and Peter, a guy he had never met but only heard of, and he wanted to know desperately. What had happened to erase an entire family? Derek had stiffened behind him and he swallowed hard nibbling on his thumb. 

“Is this really a conversation during your heat, Stiles?”

“Probably not, but I was just curious. You know about my mom, how she died, how I was the last person to hold her hand. Dad came bursting in just as the doctor declared her dead and I've always thought he resented me for that,” Stiles murmured, his mouth twisting a little. Derek pressed closer to him, his arm tucking over his stomach so he shut his eyes at the warmth of it. 

“He would never resent you.”

“Yeah, maybe, I was just...wondering. You don't have to tell me, I know it's a big deal and...they're dead. So you know it's a touchy subject and...shit – I shouldn't have said anything, ignore me please,” he rambled and only shut up when Derek's hand covered his mouth. 

“Fine. I suppose it's better you're not looking at me for this,” he muttered, his hand moving to rest underneath his neck. “It's not a story I like to tell. One that Laura refuses to tell. Not when I blame myself and she gets so angry she takes a two week vacation to cool off.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah, once, about two years ago. I blame myself because I was a fool, a big idiot, I didn't – I didn't see her for what she was. The evil underneath the smile and beauty. I was just a kid, a dumb kid all pumped up on arrogance and hormones. Desperate to have someone, a girl or a guy, anything to kiss and have sex. She appeared out of nowhere. She was interested in me, I didn't question it. Just took into my stride.”

“I didn't care when she sweet talked me into bed or when she took my virginity. I didn't tell my parents about her, they asked questions, picked and prodded but I just told them to leave me alone. I shouldn't have done that, I should have said something. But I was too lost in her, too blind to see it. Believed I was in love with her. Then it all came crashing down.”

“What was her name?”

“Kate. Kate Argent.”

Stiles pulled up short looking at him over his shoulder to meet his eyes. “Argent?”

“Yeah, why? You sound like you know that name...” he murmured softly. 

“I – I do, Allison, Allison Argent, Scott's ex-girlfriend who took off to France with Lydia. Haven't heard from her in months and months. Spoke of her crazy human aunt who burned a house down with an entire family drugged and locked in the basement. That was you?” he whispered feeling nauseous and terrified to his core.

“Yeah. She left me in her bed, I was sleeping, woke up, and she was gone. There was a lipstick mark on my cheek like a goodbye and my phone was ringing. Laura was – was screaming, she said she went out to get some beer and she came back and someone knocked her out. I was stood in her room when I felt my mother die, the power screaming in my body. I howled so loud I burst my eardrums. They were dead by the time I got there, I could smell her...smell her perfume, her scent, it lingered around the house like she ran circles. They were dead and she had disappeared.”

The knot had died down by then and he pulled out ignoring the pain to face him. Derek's eyes were dry but void of emotion and he pressed himself closer to him. His arms wrapped around his neck to rest his lips against his cheek.

“It was Laura who hunted her down eventually. Never stopped looking for her till she found her in a motel one night. Laura never hesitated in killing her. She didn't exactly tell me what happened but she did tell me she tore her head from her body and burned the room down. It destroyed all evidence.”

“Holy shit!” Stiles breathed. “You'd never think looking at her.”

Derek nodded resting his chin on top of his head. Stiles swallowed hard moving to press him on his back and sit on his stomach.

“Fuck, I'm so sorry, Derek.”

“Why are you apologizing?”

“Because I made you talk about it and I can see what it's done to you. Maybe it wasn't the best time to talk about it, especially in a heat, and I'm sorry, I'm so sorry...”

Stiles leaned in kissing him softly and moved to kiss down the line of his jaw. He pressed gentle kisses over his mouth and cheeks, up to his forehead and nose. Derek huffed softly, his hand reaching up to stroke a thumb across his cheek and Stiles couldn't get close enough. He wrapped him up in his arms tightly and whispered endearments into his skin. 

“It's not your fault...”

“Not you too.”

“Don't you dare blame yourself for something you were blind to,” he murmured. “Sometimes...we don't see people's true colors until it's too late. Sometimes, the consequences are extreme. But it's not your fault.”

Derek closed his eyes swallowing hard and gripped his hips tight to flip their positions around. “I still blame myself. I always will. But I've learned to move on from it.”

“Yeah, I know the feeling,” he murmured. He pressed his lips to his gently before wrapping his arms around him and holding him close in a hug. 

Soon his stomach rumbled and Derek pressed a kiss to his eyebrow before getting up to get some of the food. It was his instinct to provide and he smirked when he returned with warm food and lemonade for him. Stiles took a great big gulp and hummed stretching out in the comfort of the bed. 

“This heat aint too bad.”

“Eat,” Derek ordered. 

“Sir, yes sir!” he cried, taking the food and sitting up to eat it. His skin felt too tight and he could feel the heat bubbling slowly within. It was lasting a lot longer than normal and already he could feel the strain on his body. Derek was always there though, his hands warm and comforting as they stroked his skin slowly, his lips on his either hot, passionate, and demanding, or slowly and gentle. There was no two ways about it but Stiles would admit to liking it hard and rough compared to slow and teasing. 

The first signs of it letting up was during the sixth day and he could go for longer hours without the desperate need to sit on Derek's cock. He could shower, eat a full meal, and play with Jamie who came around to see him. The only problem with that was Jamie being clingy and crying when Laura had to take him away. It broke his heart to let him go and he couldn't truly wait till his heat was over. 

“I shouldn't have put it off for so long,” he sighed, his back leaning against his chest as they ate grapes. He pushed one into his mouth and bit hard swallowing down the tangy juices. “It's my fault this is so long and my body has no idea what to do. It's like it's desperate for me to be freaking pregnant. Hopefully these tablets work.”

“We don't need baby number two coming.”

“Not yet anyway,” he smirked feeling tense behind him. “Feeling a little tense are we?”

“Shut up,” Derek muttered, his hand slapping his chest so he gasped softly. 

“No, but really, thanks for helping me out,” he said twisting in his arms. Derek raised his eyebrows at him once he was turned to look at him. 

“Why wouldn't I help you?” he murmured, his hand raking through his hair to cup the back of his neck. “I'd do anything for you.”

“Anything?”

“Yeah,” Derek spoke softly. Stiles swallowed hard and moved pressing his lips to the corner of his mouth and leaned into his warmth gratefully. 

*

Stiles' heat lasted eight full days till it finally subsided and he was able to carry on without it. Jamie was returned to them by a grateful Laura.

“I love the little guy, but this is the reason I am never becoming a mother. The benefit of babysitting the little joys is being able to hand them back to the parents. Call me in three months for his next heat, yeah?”

Derek rolled his eyes at her but allowed the complaint. Instead he got to watch son and father reunite and Stiles wouldn't put Jamie down. He kissed and cuddled him close as they watched cartoons together. The fan blowing on them to cool the apartment down in the height of summer. Their summers were always awfully warm. 

“I missed you so much, I am so sorry I left you for so long. Daddy will never do that again,” Stiles whispered into his hair. Derek raised an eyebrow at him pointedly but he waved it off and he shook his head walking into the kitchen faintly amused. Stiles held onto him when he walked into the kitchen and placed him on the counter.

“What are we having?”

“Meatballs.”

“Meatballs!” Stiles repeated to Jamie who giggled clapping his hands. “Are you excited for real food? Instead of the crap, Aunt Laura, must have been feeding you?”

“I'm sure it wasn't that bad.”

“Oh, you want to bet?” Stiles mumbled. 

Derek huffed but continued onto make dinner and half listened to him talk to Jamie who watched him with wide attentive eyes. It was an endearing sight if anything and he kept an eye on them whilst cooking. Dinner was something he enjoyed with the both of them, especially Jamie who liked to eat with his hands. His face smeared with tomato sauce and an angelic look on his face as he did it. Jamie reminded him of Stiles every day. He was changing from the little boy who crawled in at eight months old. 

“I can bathe him and put him to bed if you like.”

“You sure?” Stiles said surprised.

“Yeah, I know you want to do the laundry. You keep eying it up.”

“It keeps looking at me!” he cried. Stiles handed him a messy Jamie so he smiled at him reassuringly and he moved with him to the bathroom. 

“Ducks?”

“Yeah, we can have the ducks and toys,” he said, squirting Johnson’s bubble bath into the warm water. He dipped his hand in making sure it was warm enough and placed a squirmy Jamie into the bath. Derek knelt down grabbing one of the flashing ducks and smacked it against his palm so it started to glow and flash colors. Jamie smiled reaching for it and ducked it into the water. He laughed when it rose to the surface and Derek grabbed the plastic jug off the side to dip into the water and pour over him. 

“Mucky pup, do you have to get so dirty?”

Jamie smiled back at him mischievously and he smiled faintly in return before tipping his head back to dampen his hair. It was soothing cleaning and rubbing soap into his skin till he was squeaky clean and talking gibberish at his toys in the water.

“Okay, time to get out.”

“No!”

“Jamie...”

“No, no, no,” he chanted kicking his feet. 

“Tough,” he said, hauling him up so he screamed in protest and kicked his wet legs at him.

“No, Jamie, stop that,” he said, setting him on his lap wrapped up in the towel. “If you continue, I won't read you a story.”

“No,” Jamie whimpered, his lip jutted out in a pout as he stared up at him. His eyes damp and ridiculously brown he wanted to cry himself. They were the exact shade of Stiles and currently staring at him wet and pleadingly. There was a God upstairs and he hated him. 

“Sorry, dada” Jamie whined, hands reaching up to him so he sighed softly and leaned into kiss his palm. Derek hauled him up to his chest and carried him out towards the nursery.

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah, I dealt with it,” he called back to Stiles folding laundry up in the living room. 

Jamie was good and tired looking once he fluffed the towel over him so he was dry. His hair was a fluffy halo around his head and he accepted his pacifier without resistance. Derek had to admit he looked very cute in his blue onesie covered in ducks. 

“Come on, puppy,” he murmured, lying down on the double bed. “Shall we read the ugly duckling? Since you adore ducks all of the sudden.”

“Yeah,” he murmured around his pacifier. The story was one he remembered as a child and he read it to him slowly watching his eyes flicker but strain to stay awake. Jamie was still fighting to stay awake by the time he reached the end and he carefully took him into his arms. Derek hummed a lullaby under his breath, his hand stroking through the softness of his hair as he gently rocked him side to side. He felt a presence at the doorway and turned his head to look over his shoulder.

Stiles stood leaning against the doorway watching them with a small smile. Jamie was sleeping by the time he looked back down at him and he carefully placed him in the crib. 

“What?” he whispered stepping towards him.

Stiles throat worked as he swallowed stepping into his personal space to look into his eyes. “I worked something out these past few days, something really important. This was the cherry.”

“What is it?”

“That I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I don't care how soon it is.”

“Really?”

Stiles nodded, a small smile on his lips as he did so. Derek inhaled deeply in relief and dragged him forward into a kiss. His teeth pressed into his bottom lip and Derek couldn't hold back his small moan of pleasure. 

“I want you to claim me.”

Derek paused to pull back and look into his eyes. 

“Are you sure?”

“More like are you sure? I mean I know this is a huge deal, a big deal actually, kind of life and death with no parting of the ways. But I am pretty sure I am like in love with you, I think I fell in love a long time ago. Probably the moment you opened the door and welcomed me into your life...”

Derek groaned pushing him out of the doorway and shutting it closed behind him carefully. They resumed their kissing once he was sure Jamie was still sleeping and he aimed for the bedroom. Stiles fell onto the bed with a gentle huff of amusement against his lips. 

“So I'm guessing...yes?” he questioned, his legs spreading so he could fit in between them and look into his eyes. 

“I don't want anyone else.”

“Neither do I.”

Derek pulled back to tug Stiles' top off his head and hauled him up so they were both kneeling facing each other. 

“Oh my god, my stomach is in flutters right now. Are we doing this? I think we're doing this, god I feel like a fucking virgin again,” Stiles rambled nervously.

“We don't have to do it now.”

“No, god, we do, yes we do,” he whispered, his hands brushing down his chest so he shivered in response. “Fuck, you are beautiful. Do you want to do this? This isn't just my decision, plus you're claiming me, your bite will scar into my shoulder. It's a big deal!”

“Stiles,” he murmured. It stilled him into stuttered silence and he moved cupping a hand to his neck, his thumb pressing to his pulse. “I told you, I had never felt like before with anyone. I've had a fair share of disastrous relationships. Swore off them for life, didn't want anyone else. Then you walked in.”

“Sorry.”

“I love you,” he said softly. Stiles' eyes widened and he made a small whimpering sound pressing closer to him. 

“I love you too.”

“Good,” Derek shrugged. Stiles laughed softly ducking his head and there was a faint flush to his cheeks that he found endearing. They wriggled and somehow found their way to lying side by side. Derek leaned in nosing at his bare shoulder and pulled back to look into his eyes. 

“Do it,” he whispered. Derek captured his mouth instead and dominated the kiss to lick into his mouth, his tongue tracing across his bottom lip. He pulled back to kiss his jaw and work his way down the line towards his neck and shoulder. His wolf rose to the surface and he growled at the pale skin before shifting and biting down hard. Stiles gasped pained underneath him and he tasted his blood on his tongue. In the dull light of the bedroom he pulled back to see it red and pulsing pink. It would heal slowly and heal to silvery lines. It would be there for everyone to see without a shirt on and present to any alpha in their scents. 

Derek licked the wound clean and moved to get dressing out of the bathroom. Stiles was lying still, his eyes traveling over his body as he bound it up. He didn't even have to ask if the bond had taken because he could feel it. Feel it from the tips of his fingers to the center of his chest were a warmth had taken place. He had never felt so self aware of Stiles before and his wolf growled deep inside of him satisfied. The perfect mate, their omega, theirs to take care of and provide for. 

“You feel it too?” Stiles smirked.

“Come here,” he murmured, his hand cupping his to draw him in and seal their lips together. His free hand tangled in his hair, his fingers tangling in the softness there. This was his now and he was going to make damn sure nothing ruined it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made it so knotting takes place mostly during in heats instead of every time they have sex. Condoms don't work during knotting, only pills if you don't wish to be pregnant. They work 98% of the time. Nothing is perfect.


	11. Chapter 11

Stiles loved fall. There was something beautiful about everything dying around you. He particularly liked to watch Jamie kick the leaves on the ground in pure delight. His ability to walk stronger now as he toddled around the playground happily. It had been two months, two months since the bite took and everything began between them. Lydia liked to call it 'marriage' and in a sense it was. Just without the rings and a certificate to say so. Stiles sat on the bench watching Jamie walk around the park in awe of things. His fingers itched the now healed scar of Derek's bite. Still pink around the scarring but healed enough to not feel it no longer. 

“You're like a woman's wet dream.”

Stiles turned his head to Lydia walking down the path towards him. Her smile small and pleased to see him as she took a seat and he leaned in kissing her cheek.

“Good to see you too.”

“How's married life?”

“It's not married life, you're overcompensating a bond. But for your sake, we're good, very good actually. I never knew being mated to someone could be so fun,” Stiles said, his head tilted to the sky and inhaling deeply. The air smelt clean and the sun still warm on his face.

“So is that code for having had sex on every surface of the apartment?”

“Who knew being fucked up against a window could be so fun?” he murmured, trailing off with a laugh when she scoffed at him amused. “I think we scared the neighbors across the street.”

“Seeing that ass? No, more like envious.”

“Sweet talker,” Stiles muttered nudging her. Lydia smiled folding her ankles together and looking out at Jamie running towards them. 

“You've got it in all the bag, haven't you? Cute kid, an alpha stuck at your side for life, a home, a job, you got everything you wanted.”

Stiles blinked at the tone and turned his head to look at her staring ahead thoughtfully.

“You make it sound so easy. Nothing in this life is given to us on a plate. Sometimes it's struggle or in my case a lot of self sacrifice. I got pregnant by a guy who abandoned me. I lost my home and ended up homeless, I held back from giving into my feelings for Derek because of fear. I made myself unhappy. It's only now that everything is coming together but I don't...” he trailed off with a shake of his head.

“What?” Lydia murmured.

“I don't think it'll last. Come on, nothing good ever lasts, there is always something around the fucking corner just waiting – waiting to screw it all up,” Stiles cried. Jamie appeared demanding juice and he passed him his sippy cup and rubbed the top of his head. “It's how it always is. You get something good and something shitty just comes along and sits on it.”

“Not always.”

“Yeah, not always, but most of the time,” he replied. Lydia raised an eyebrow but didn't argue against it as she leaned back and folded her hands into her lap. 

“You have everything in your lap now. I want that.”

“Like settling down? I am talking to a Miss Lydia Martin, right? You haven't been stolen and replaced in the night with a robot. Please tell me you're not a robot!” he cried, grabbing Jamie and placing him on his lap. Lydia rolled her eyes at his childish remarks. 

“Yes, settling down, is that so hard to believe?”

“You've never shown any interest at all to have a long-term relationship,” he pointed out. 

“Because I date little boys, I need a man,” she pointed out. 

Stiles hummed tilting his head and smiling when Jamie smiled at him around his sippy cup. Nothing ever put him down. 

“That sounds more like you,” he said softly. Lydia smiled faintly, her eyes flicking away to look around the park and he felt a sharp pang of sadness for her. Things hadn't been the same since she had returned from France. Stiles didn't speak and he simply wrapped an arm around her and held her close conveying his feelings that way. 

The wind grew colder and soon Jamie was fussing to go home and watch cartoons. 

“You're going to be okay, right?”

“I always am. Don't worry about me,” she said, flipping her hair over one shoulder before she leaned up and brushed a kiss against his cheek. “Worry about you and your life. Leave my life to me.”

“You know I worry,” he called after her as she walked away.

“You wouldn't be you if you didn't,” she called back. Stiles smiled faintly gripping the stroller with tight hands before turning in the opposite direction. Derek was home and waiting for them when he pushed the stroller in and grinned.

“Well aren't you the good house husband?”

“Shut up,” he greeted with a kiss. Stiles hummed leaning into his warmth and wrapped his arms around his neck. “How was the park?”

“It was okay, Jamie played and ran around so he should sleep tonight. Lydia though, she seemed a little...off.”

“Off?” he questioned getting Jamie out of the stroller. 

“Talking about how my life is put together and good and how I had it all. She wanted that, a long-term relationship, a home, a family, everything Lydia has never wanted.”

“Well it's not like we're getting any younger,” Derek argued.

“I know, I know, it just surprised me is all. I just worry about her.”

Derek shot him a small smile of acknowledgment and Stiles moved past him to look in the kitchen for lunch. Stiles truly had the domestic life. Not like that was a problem, it could never be a problem. Not when he was eating lasagna, putting his son to bed, and then having quiet and rushed sex on the living room floor. It was the simple pleasures in life. One that he enjoyed many of and it was about time he relished in them. He had too much shit in his life not to enjoy it. 

Which was why he was pleasantly surprised when Derek suggested a date five days later.

“You want to go on date? I think we're a bit late for that,” he said, his hands folding up their laundry. “You don't have to pamper me, I'm already yours. Till death do us part. Or you know not for a long, long, time.” 

“It's wanting to take you out and spoil you. I want to do something, plus eating something that isn't home cooked would be nice.”

“Is that a jab at my cooking?” he teased him. Derek rolled his eyes and circled his arms around his waist, his chin resting over his shoulder so he smiled back at him. 

“Can I not treat you?”

“Of course you can, it's just what do we do with our baby?” he said, inclining his head at Jamie sat curled up with a blanket. His pacifier was in and he was staring at the television currently playing Shrek. He loved that Donkey more than anything. 

“That's why we have babysitters at our disposal. I can call Scott?”

“Hm, sounds like a good idea. Give them bonding time.”

“I'll give him a call,” Derek said, his hand slapping his ass hard enough to draw a gasp out of him. He rubbed his sore behind watching Derek talk on his phone. Scott agreed and Stiles set about putting a bag together for Jamie to stay over. His stomach twisted a little with butterflies at the idea of going out but at the same time he was looking forward to it.

“You're going to spend the night with Uncle Scott, are you excited?!” Stiles cried, pulling Jamie's hat on his head. 

“Yeah!” Jamie smiled. They were taking the car over there and Stiles held Jamie on his hip once they got out and he hurried in time to catch the door just as someone was leaving. It saved buzzing to be let in. Scott's elevator was broken and he took the stairs with a grumble. 

“I hate stairs, they're useless!” he muttered under his breath. Stiles reached the door and used the handle to let himself in. It was like something out of a horror movie when the door swung open and revealed the appalling image of Isaac's pasty ass on display. The pasty ass currently fucking his best friend into the couch. Grunts and swearing echoed in the place and he swore loudly backing up. Derek's hand shot out covering Jamie's eyes before he slammed the front door shut.

“Oh holy god, jesus, satan, lucifer, what the fu-” he cried, his hand shaking as he stared at the front door. “Oh my eyes! My poor eyes!”

Derek grimaced removing his hand from the door and uncovered Jamie's eyes. Jamie looked unfazed by the recent trouble and looked between them confused. There was commotion behind the door before Scott opened it looking flushed, his hair was sweaty and sticking upwards, he was wearing his jeans and nothing more. There was the overwhelming scent of sex and Stiles reeled backwards.

“I – I am so sorry, guys, I swear it just happened, we were cleaning the place up and...and...” he trailed off with a wild gesture. 

“You knew we were coming around! I didn't need to see Isaac's pasty white ass! I mean the man needs a tan,” Stiles cried , trailing off with a sound of horrified disgust. “Scott, was this the first time?”

“Yeah, I mean things had been leading up to it!” Scott cried, his head turning towards Isaac who appeared amused and flushed a pale pink.

“Hi guys, sorry about the...”

Stiles nodded slowly, his eyes flicking up to Derek who looked annoyed and faintly disgusted. 

“I'll ask Laura, come on,” Derek encouraged, his hand pressed to his back to lead him away.

“No, we can look after him...” Scott protested.

“Scott, no, seriously, we'll ask Laura to do it for the night. I mean, come on,” Stiles cried, his hand gesturing at the nudity and smell of sex still lingering. “You've just slept together, it's a big deal. You don't need a little kid plus...you guys are wrecked, it smells like sex, and I want to protect my pup from adult life for a little longer so enjoy yourselves!”

Derek is practically herding him out of there as they walk downstairs and bust out into the cold evening air. Derek catches his eyes and with wordless communication it looks like they're on the same page. 

“This is why we need bleach for our brains or an ability to wipe our memories. I am never going to get the image of Isaac's pasty white ass out of my mind! God, I didn't even know Scott was into guys! He's never – well...” he trailed off inclining his head.

“What?” Derek frowned, hands tight on the wheel as they drove to Laura's.

“We kind of...experimented...”

“You what?!”

“Oh don't be getting all touchy! Or are we forgetting that Isaac Lahey is your ex lover? Hm!” Stiles cried.

“That was nothing more than a two week fling.”

“Scott and I experimented kissing, we kissed and we touched each other. That was it. It was a little weird, like incest, it was too weird and we called it quits. He never shown any interest in men ever again and now – now he is being bent over the couch like there is no tomorrow!” he cried dramatically. Jamie giggled in the back of the car watching him. “Oh   
god, I can't believe we walked into that.”

“I've walked into worse.”

“Oh, yeah? What?”

“My sister on all fours with a man -”

“Okay!” Stiles shouted horrified. His hands covering his face so Derek laughed softly. “How is this our lives? I don't know whether to be sick or laugh or cry or do all three?!”

“I say all three but after we hand Jamie over to Laura.”

“Okay,” he whimpered. Laura was more than happy to take Jamie. 

“I get lonely,” she said in response to his quirked eyebrow. “Plus I love his face. Go have fun, have lots and lots of sex. See you tomorrow!”

“I say we do exactly what she said. We'll eat, go home, have so much sex, and wake up tomorrow happy as Larry. Whoever this Larry guy is anyway,” Stiles cried, the car door slamming behind him so he raised his eyebrows at him. 

“Deal,” Derek agreed. 

He drove them home and Stiles had first go on the shower. His eyes closed and he swallowed down his disgust of seeing his best friend get fucked. It really wasn't something you wanted to see at all really. He turned when the bathroom door opened and he held back a smile when Derek stripped off joining him.

“I'm showering, don't get me messy.”

“This saves both time and water,” he murmured into his ear. His teeth scraping the shell so he chuckled and spun to face him. Stiles gripped the back of his neck to kiss him, his teeth scraping his bottom lip so he growled low. The sound rippling up his spine in response. His back collided with the cold tiles and he gasped at the cold touch of them. 

“You know a shower is meant to get us clean,” he whispered. “This is the exact opposite.”

Derek responded lifting him so he could wrap his legs around his waist, his mouth sealed against his so he sucked on his tongue eagerly. Derek grabbed the soap and massaged his ass cheeks with gentle fingers. His fingers pushing against his hole so he clenched desperate for him.

“Fuck me,” he whispered against his lips. Derek groaned, his hands tugging him closer as he lined up and pushed inside of him. Stiles moaned greedily, his hands gripping his back and his hair when Derek began to thrust upward. It was the kind that was hurried, fast, and a tad painful when his back slid up the wall with every thrust. His moans and gasps torn out of his mouth as he clung to his body and craved the friction against his cock. Derek's breath was hot in his ear and he clenched hard around his cock feeling his eventual climax deep inside of him. It was hot and sticky with the steam of the shower and hard to catch his breath.

“Derek, I -” he cut off when Derek slid out of him and dropped to his knees. 

His head dropped back against the wall and his hands slid into his hair in response to his mouth. It was wet, warm, and slick circling the head of his cock and he thrust forward knowing Derek could take it. His tongue circled and his head bobbed as he sucked him down. 

“Oh, Derek, fuck!” he cried, his eyes squeezing shut once he too climaxed. 

“It's what a shower should be used for,” Derek whispered against his lips once he stood up and kissed him.

“If you say so,” he chuckled. Stiles grabbed the wash cloth and slid it in between his thighs to get rid of the come sliding down his legs. His fingers were wrinkled and he squeaky clean once he emerged and stepped out. Stiles dressed in a warm soft blue sweater and jeans and slipped on his shoes before joining him.

“You look good.”

“I feel good, if not a little sore,” Stiles said, his hand reaching around to slap Derek's ass in those jeans. “You seriously look good in those jeans. They leave little to the imagination.”

“I can hardly breathe in them.”

“Yeah but you look sexy as fuck right now and you're all mine so I get to show you off.”

Derek rolled his eyes but a small smile lingered on his lips as they walked out together. It was chilled but not freezing once they got outside and into the car. Stiles got full control of the radio and slapped Derek's hand away when he tried to intervene. 

“This is my car.”

“Yeah, well, focus on your driving,” Stiles dismissed with a wave of his hand. Derek reached a hand over to poke him hard in his side and it left him breathless and giggling. It was always a weak spot. Derek drove them to the restaurant across town and he sat and waited at Derek's order and he circled to open the door.

“Could you be any more cheesy?”

“Yes,” Derek responded taking his hand. Stiles flushed and stepped out shaking his head at him. His eyes scanned the place and he hummed in approval. It looked nice from the outside and he could bet the prices in there were going to make him hyperventilate. 

“What happened to burgers and fries?”

“You're making me regret ever bonding you,” Derek groaned, hand warm when it pressed against his back and he faked a gasp.

“How rude, you're supposed to love me.”

“I do love you, that's the problem.”

“Oh, fuck you,” Stiles cried pleasantly. His eyes open and amused when Derek kissed him slowly and teasingly. “Are we going in or what? I'm freezing my poor balls off.”

They were led to a two table by a very nice young woman who took great interest in eying Derek up and forgetting he existed. She handed them their menus and winked walking away. Stiles quirked an eyebrow at Derek who shrugged back at him.

“What?”

“I just became Mr Invisible! Didn't you see? Oh no, no, no, of course not, because you, my lovely mated alpha, you were checking out her ass!” he hissed at him.

“I was not checking out her ass...”

“And she was checking out yours.”

“Are you jealous?”

Stiles scoffed at the idea despite the grip in his chest and the impending feeling of wanting to rip that little bitch's face off her. “Jealous? Nope, no, nada, why would I be?”

“I was not checking out her ass,” Derek repeated, opening his menu and looking into it. Stiles licked his drying lips and stared down at his own. 

“Can I get you anything to drink?” Blonde Bitch said pleasantly. Stiles lingered on her name tag, Lauren, and sneered looking away. 

“I'll have a beer, Stiles?”

“Beer.”

“Okay,” she said, scribbling on her pad and flashing a bright smile at Derek. 

“Oh my god, could this be any more cliché?” Stiles moaned into his hands. “She's hitting on you with smiles and flirting and walking away with hips all over the place!”

“Maybe she is, maybe she isn't, I don't care, because I have you and I don't need or want anyone else. So let her do what she wants,” Derek said, his foot hooking around his so he rolled his eyes but allowed it. Lauren returned with their glasses and Derek held onto his hand the whole time and stared at him with raised eyebrows.

“I hate that I love you,” Stiles mumbled around his glass.

“Isn't that a song?”

“Yeah, still the truth.”

“Bullshit.”

They ordered a first course from the waitress who now eyed their hands still linked together with interest. 

“I'm really resisting throwing her face into a wall.”

“Stiles...”

“What? I can't get possessive too? You're mine just as much as I am to you,” Stiles argued. Derek smiled faintly bringing his hand up to kiss. “I will bend you over this table. But then we'd be arrested and my son will be ashamed of me in later years.”

“You're an idiot.”

“Oh come on, I am the best idiot!” he exclaimed. Derek shut his eyes and shook his head lightly before reaching over to kiss him. It was a light peck but it still left shivers running down his spine. It was a display of affection and his hand was a warm seal over his mark before he let go and sat back. Lauren looked slightly scandalized when she returned with their first courses and he smiled smugly back at her. Yes, he had the tastiest dish on the menu, and it was currently wearing a leather jacket. 

Stiles' second course was steak that he happily cut into and savored every bite of it because it was good. He was glad about that because of the cost of it and they shared a dessert between the two of them.

“This chocolate is good. I'd like to smear it on you,” Stiles murmured, licking the spoon suggestively.

“I'm not overly keen on food in bed.”

“Makes a mess?” Stiles questioned and hummed when he nodded. “True but the outcome is rather amazing.”

“You've done it before?”

“Once, back in college, guy brought me back to his place and brought out whipped cream. Was a little weird to have my nipples and cock squirted with cream but hey...led to an orgasm.”

Derek eyes flared red and his mouth twisted a little to the side.

“Oh, are we feeling a little rage of the green eyed monster, Mr Hale?” he whispered. Derek glared at him till he laughed and nudged his foot against his. “It was ages away and we all experimented!”

“I regret asking about it now.”

“Fine, no more talking about orgasms and whipped cream,” he mumbled amused. 

Derek paid the bill and Stiles smirked at Lauren who eyed them both as they left. 

“You had to do that didn't you?”

“Yes, she was checking you out all dinner. I may have been dog shit just sitting in a chair,” he cried. Derek inhaled and sighed deeply circling his arms around his waist so he laughed and didn't care about the people walking past. 

“You're such an idiot.”

“Keep that up and you'll be sleeping on the couch for a week!” he said softly, turning his head to look at him. The kiss caught him almost off guard and he turned in his arms to press his hand to his cheek.

“Let's go home.”

It was all hands once Derek drove them home and they fumbled pressing their hands against each other in the elevator. Derek pressed him against the door and with his free hand unlocked it shoving him in. 

“I know we had sex barely four hours ago but I want you,” he breathed, his hands tugging Derek's shirt off so buttons popped off onto the floor. Derek made a small sound of agreement tugging his sweater on and leading him into the bedroom. 

It was less hurried this time, they could take their time, Derek's fingers slowly working him open so he panted and screamed his demands at the ceiling. The slow burn and slide of Derek inside of him would never get old and he swore violently into his neck each time. Each time an orgasm was wrung out of him and Derek thrust into him so hard his head hit the headboard. They were the moments he cherished and he couldn't get enough of them really. 

It was later on when they were sated, sticky, and lying together attempting to get their breathing together that Derek spoke up.

“I actually wanted to talk to you tonight.”

“Hm, what about?” he murmured opening his eyes. 

“It's about this place, how it's nice and everything, but maybe not good enough for us.”

“What?” Stiles murmured, turning his head to look at him and grumbled when Derek sat up and turned on the lamp. “Derek, what are you talking about?”

“Houses.”

“Okay?”

“I have enough money put away in the banks to get us a house for you, me, and Jamie, and maybe...some guests for in the future or even...more little ones,” he said suggestively.

“You want us to move?”

“It was an idea, I love this apartment, it was good for when I was alone and had no one else but now I have you and Jamie. I think a change could be good for us. Find some houses in New York.”

“Um,” he began sitting up and facing him. “I think I agree.”

“You think?”

“Well more I do agree, I mean I've never owned a house before. Apartments mainly. My dad's house, but I think you're right about a good change.”

“I'm glad you agree.”

“Why wouldn't I? We can get a yard for Jamie! Put a swing set up for him,” he cried gleefully and moved to sit on his lap. Derek nodded in agreement cupping his face to kiss him and continue to kiss him thoroughly enough that he gasped for breath. 

“Our own house...does that mean I can paint our bedroom? Because I think a Star Wars themed bedroom -”

“No, Stiles.”


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry this took nearly a week to update. I started American Horror Story and do you know how hard it is to write and watch a show at the same time? So I watched that and wrote this monster out. 
> 
> 1000 kudos!!! Thank you so much guys, seriously. I am so glad you're liking this.

He always knew moving house was stressful. Picking the right one, the one perfect for them, that took over two months of hunting. Realtors with fake smiles and a selling attitude, houses that smelt of rot or were too small, too large, and just not right. It was maddening and Stiles was so sick of meeting them. Their final house was the one. Stiles knew the moment he stepped out of the car and stared up at the house, Jamie held onto his hand also staring up at the light green door. The front yard was small and slightly overgrown but nothing a bit of tender loving care couldn't handle. Inside it was spacious, held four bedrooms, two bathrooms, a large kitchen, living room, and dining room. Jamie particularly loved the backyard and ran around with glee. 

“Think it's the one?” Derek whispered into his ear, his arms wrapped around his waist and he leaned into him smiling. Stiles shut his eyes and imagined a life. Imagined them in a home like this and he inhaled deeply nodding.

“Yeah, I think we've finally found it. We can live here.”

“Good, I was sick of looking.”

Stiles hummed into agreement to that and the lease was signed. The money transferred over and all there was to do now was pack up the apartment. That was the worst part really when they tore everything down and wrapped it all in bubble wrap. 

“I've always hated moving. But I wasn't given much of a choice when the asshole chucked me out, kept all my stuff,” Stiles muttered, tossing Jamie's toys into the large brown box. “I don't – I don't know where I'd be right now if you hadn't emotionally manipulated me into coming with you that day.”

“Harsh way of putting it,” Derek said quirking his eyebrows. 

“I'm just glad I said yes, who knows where I'd be right now,” he muttered thoughtfully. “Homeless shelters or would have got some rot invested apartment to live in. It's nowhere to bring Jamie up.”

“So am I,” he murmured, pulling his hand and kissing him softly. Stiles smiled against his lips and gently smacked his chest moving away to continue packing. It was a long haul but they finally managed it. The next day it went into a moving van and they stood in the empty apartment together. Stiles eyed the pale walls and glanced at Derek who stared around thoughtfully. 

“You're going to miss this place aren't you?”

“Not really,” Derek disagreed. “It was...a place to hide. Busy myself in businesses I didn't care about and hide from I wanted. This is a new start, somewhere to be a family.”

“It's disgustingly domestic.”

“If you say so,” Derek murmured amused.

“Are you one hundred per cent sure the house isn't haunted? I mean this is such a cliché!” he cried, turning to Derek who snorted at him. “We're moving into a new house! If I get dragged down the stairs by someone unknown force. Or if some demon wants my baby boy I will kill you. I will divorce your werewolf ass.”

“It's not haunted.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, you idiot,” he murmured, his finger flicking his forehead fondly so he batted him away and they headed to the front door. 

“Bye bye apartment!”

“Why are you saying goodbye to an apartment?”

“We lived here, it's only kind. Remember Pocahontas? She said everything is living. Well this place had feeling!”

Derek opened his mouth to respond and chose not to with a shake of his head. He walked away leaving him alone to shut the door and end that part of his life. Jamie was already at the house and waiting with Laura who was getting the stuff in.

“This house is incredible. But why do you need four bedrooms?” she demanded, hands on her hips and her eyebrows raised. 

“Our bedroom, Jamie's bedroom, and two spare for guests or future family members,” Derek answered for them. Stiles smirked at him and hoisted Jamie up to let him settle on his hip.

“Babies?” Laura inquired with a big smile.

“Not yet, not for a while,” Stiles protested shaking his head. “Let's live our lives for a while first, yeah?”

Laura cocked her head considering and didn't argue against that. She watched Jamie while they unpacked the living room and kitchen. Stiles handed Derek one of the beers out of the fridge and hopped up onto the counter watching him with a small smile.

“Can't believe this is ours,” he murmured, the beer sharp and refreshing on his tongue when he sucked on it and pulled it away with a pop. “Always wanted to own my own house.”

Derek nodded walking over and pushed open his legs to step in between them. His hands were warm were they pressed against his lower back. Stiles looped his arms around his neck and pressed his lips to his jaw line gently. 

“Do you think we'll be happy here?” Derek murmured.

“Yeah, I hope so, I think this will be good for us.”

Derek sought his mouth kissing him hard so he moaned greedily for more. His hands raked into his hair, his fingers scratching into his scalp so he responded with a soft moan. Stiles panted clinging closer to him, Derek's fingers digging into his back so he bucked into him desperate for friction. It was disturbed though by a clearing of a throat and he pulled away to see Laura staring at them from the doorway. Her hands were folded over her chest and Derek sighed looking over his shoulder.

“Yes?”

“You know, gay porn is really hot, I'm a lesbian and I can admit to that. But my brother and my brother in law? It's a bit creepy even for me, anyway this is not unpacking the kitchen. This is about to get it on in your stainless steel kitchen.” 

“Where's Jamie?”

“I gave him my iPad and he's chilling on the couch waiting for dada and papa to finish the unpacking instead of having sex on the counter.”

“We wouldn't have made it that far,” Derek sighed, he pressed a lingering kiss on his lips before moving away. Stiles dropped down and saluted Laura. 

“I'm going to do upstairs,” Derek called walking away. 

“Well isn't he a good house husband! You've trained my baby brother well, Stiles.”

“I know, got him whipped,” he said, pretending to whip a whip and undid the last box. “Thanks for being here with Jamie.”

“I like spending time with him. He's my little nephew.”

Stiles smiled at her and passed her the wrapped up plates. “Put them in the second cupboard please? I want to be unpacked before dinner. I'm ordering Chinese, you want in?”

“Free food? Hell yes!” she agreed. “Who would even refuse that?”

“People who don't like Chinese food I guess.”

“I pity them,” she whispered mournfully. Stiles chucked a cloth at her and she caught it with a chuckle. They did it together and unpacked the rest of the boxes till it was done and he could collapse on the couch with a tired sigh.

“I hate unpacking. So tedious, boring, but at least it's done,” he mumbled, pulling Jamie into his lap and nuzzling the top of his head. “All done! Do you want to see your room? Papa is going to decorate it for you, baby. Just the way you want it.”

“Yay!” Jamie clapped his hands. Stiles hauled him up and took him upstairs to his bedroom. It was painted white for now but already his furniture and toys were inside. His cot replaced with a small bed with rails so he wouldn't roll out. Jamie tugged at his shirt wanting to be let down and he dropped him with a small smile.

“Story, dada?”

“Come here,” he murmured, tugging him into his lap and taking a seat on his bed. Jamie smiled at him and rest his head against his chest as he read Cinderella to him. His hand gripped his shirt tight and he looked up at him. His eyes wide and blinking as he read the story softly to him till he reached the end.

“They lived happily ever after, happy endings all around,” Stiles whispered. His nose nuzzling his forehead before pressing a kiss to it gently. “Like us, I told you I'd get us out of there, didn't I? I wasn't going to let you down, baby. Now look what we have. I love you, monkey.”

“Love you,” Jamie repeated smiling. Stiles grinned pulling him up into a hug and rubbed his back gently rocking him gently. His eyes flicked to the doorway to see Derek watching them and Stiles smiled over to him in response. 

“What?” Stiles mouthed to him.

“Nothing, just like watching you both,” Derek replied gently and dropped down to his knees in front of them. “Nothing quite like a father and son bonding.”

“We read Cinderella,” Stiles explained. “Happy endings, the Disney versions always has happy endings. We got ours, well as good as a happy ending can be.”

“Who says it's an ending? Just a beginning,” Derek corrected, kissing Jamie's palm when he raised it to his mouth and cuddled up to him for a second hug. “The ending doesn't come till we're in our nineties. We have grandchildren and great grandchildren and we can't walk without taking pills. Our babies have grown up and left the house and it's just us. Us and the smell of baking because even though you're ninety you like to bake cookies. Because you're an idiot. That's when it'll end, when we die and we see each other on the other side.”

“You're so corny,” Stiles laughed breathlessly. He reached over tilting his chin to kiss him hard. “But I like that, I kind of really want to be ninety years old and baking cookies. As crap as they'll be because I'm ninety and what the hell am I doing standing up and baking? I should be writing my memoirs.”

“I love you,” Derek murmured sincerely, his eyes tracking his so he bit his lip and leaned into his touch. 

“Good job I love you too, right?” he whispered, their kiss lingering and sweet till Jamie slapped his hands on their cheeks giggling. 

“My child just slapped me, now that's something,” Stiles said, tickling Jamie who giggled flailing in his lap and kicking his legs in response to get away. “God, I am so hungry! Should we order food, monkey face? Should we?!”

“Yes!” he cried. 

“Okay, food time,” he said, slapping his hand into Derek's so he could pull him up and they could go downstairs. Laura was waiting for them when they eventually made it downstairs and he made an order for Chinese food. It was strange eating in a new house and he prayed it went well. 

“Thanksgiving soon, then Christmas, New Year, Jamie's second birthday. Everything is coming up, I mean we could celebrate it here. But then that would mean my dad flying over here, not that he's not got the money but it's a long way to travel. But then again he's got to come see the new place sooner or later,” Stiles said as they lay in bed that night. 

“We'll figure it out, that's what time is for. Stop worrying, you're constantly worrying about the smallest things.”

“I know,” he whined mournfully. His eyes scanning their new bedroom. “Just can't keep my mind closed off. It's telling me to worry. It's telling me we have to call our banks, our water, tell them we've changed address. It's sorting the decorating, it's telling people where we live now -”

Derek huffed flipping him onto his back and pinning him down hard enough for him to sigh and stare up at him.

“Shush, stop worrying so much, that's going to be sorted. It doesn't have to be now or tomorrow. It'll be done though,” Derek reassured him, his thumb rubbing over his mark, his other hand stroking through his hair slowly. 

“I love how you can calm me down.”

“I'm your alpha, your anchor, it's my job to look after you, protect you, stop you worrying about the stupidest things.”

Stiles smiled faintly and let him manhandle him so he they were cuddled up, his cheek pressed against his chest, Derek's head resting on top of his. It was perfect for him. He felt safe, secure, warm, and he snuggled closer keeping Derek's words in his head. Hopefully he was right and things would sort themselves out. 

*

###### One year, five months, and twelve days later.

Stiles scrubbed his hands over his face feeling exhausted. His eyes flicked over to the window to see outside and catch a glimpse of the blooms of April. Spring was always his second favorite season. There was something soothing about a new beginning, flowers spouting up, the leaves forming on cold bare branches after a long hard winter. Stiles looked down at his desk and sighed at all the paperwork he had to be doing. Right now he'd rather be at home with Derek and Jamie but life wasn't kind like that. It was never kind like that. 

He been at this job for over eight months now. Who knew becoming an administrator could be so interesting. Well it was a lot more interesting than pouring coffee for nagging customers who saw you as nothing more than their coffee maker. Stiles had been glad to hand in his notice to Laura who smiled knowingly. It was easy to hang up the apron and start job hunting. This job had been chance luck, an interview gone well, and he could start straight away. It had been nerve wracking to step into a new job and be around people who had known each other for years. Relationships and friendships formed and he was just the new guy. 

“Hey, have this,” Aaron, his closet friend in this place, appeared out of nowhere with a coffee for him. Stiles groaned gratefully and took a sip leaning back and adjusting his tie. 

“How can it be home time in three hours? I am so tired.”

“Long night?” Aaron smirked raising an eyebrow.

“Ha, ha, no, well kind of,” he murmured thinking of the morning blow job. Derek was very clever with those mouth and fingers. Nothing quite like an orgasm at half six in the morning. They got each other off, got up, made breakfast, Stiles went to work, Derek went to work with meetings with Laura about expanding the business, and Jamie went to preschool. The joys of routine. 

“Just tired.”

“You do look a little drained and pale, pal. I noticed it this week. You're not sick are you?”

“We don't get sick,” Stiles scoffed.

“Yes we do, we just get sick and heal after like a day. I got a common cold last year, man those suck!” he cried, sitting in the seat opposite. “Or you know pregnancy.”

Stiles laughed sipping his coffee. “I'm not pregnant, I know that. I'm fine, just the job, lack of sleep, a toddler hell bent on remaining in the terrible twos no matter what I say. He's three now!”

“Ah, the sweet joys of being a beta,” Aaron grinned. 

“Fuck off and get back to work,” Stiles muttered, waving a hand at him till he went away chuckling under his breath. Stiles rolled his eyes and got back to work till five when he could go home. He was so relieved when he could stand pulling on his coat and walk out waving at Jeff the security guard. He got into his little car, an anniversary present from Derek, and drove home. The lights were on when he parked up and he grabbed his bag heading inside. Jamie was singing loudly to Frozen currently playing and he hated that stupid fucking film and 'letting it go'. Yeah, he'd let it go, let the DVD fly out of the window never to be seen again.

“Hey, honey, I'm home,” he cried to Derek currently cooking dinner.

“Hey, how was work?”

“Oh god, how cliché,” he mumbled, his arms wrapping around his waist to press his face into his back. He smelled warm and he kissed his shirt gently before pulling away and shrugging.

“Work was work, boring, tedious, I would rather be here with my mate and my pup, yada yada,” he said, grabbing a beer out of the fridge and cracking it open. 

“You look tired,” Derek murmured, his thumb running down his cheek slowly. “Earlier nights.”

“You sound like my dad, hush up,” he mumbled. The beer wasn't as satisfactory as he would hope and he pushed it away with a sigh. 

“Dad!” Jamie screeched running up to him. 

“Hey monkey, did you enjoy school?”

“Yeah, we painted a picture, want to see?” he said, turning on his foot to run to the fridge and pull off a picture. Derek turned his head smiling over at them as he cooked. Jamie thrust the white cardboard at him and he sat back looking at the blobs and what appeared to be a house. 

“You, papa, and me!” he said, pointing out the blobs. 

“It's beautiful, I love it,” Stiles replied, leaning in and kissing his cheek noisily. Jame giggled and ran back to the fridge to stick it back on and run back to the television. “You didn't tell me?”

“Jamie made me swear not to tell you about the picture, he wanted to tell you himself.”

Stiles hummed resting his chin on his hand and looked up at him with a small smile. It had been a good year. Well in his mind it had been a good year. New jobs, new schools, new changes to everything really. It didn't happen without trials of course and sometimes they argued. The stupidest things or real stuff like money and family. It was full of ups and downs. The ups being Isaac and Scott making an announcement they were together the first Christmas in the house. Not that it had been a surprise after Isaac's ass was imprinted on his mind forever. It was scarring. But it was nice to see Scott happy for the first time since Allison left him. Also kind of nice to see Isaac happy and no longer pining for Derek and their two week love affair. 

The year brought out a few surprises. One being Lydia finally finding a man, a nice guy who worked in publishing and treated her right. Didn't bow to her every whim but Matt was a nice guy. Took her to Italy for their six month anniversary and she came back radiant and happy. It was enough for him to know she was happy and secure in whatever she was doing. Another surprise had been Erica. The girl he had heard about but never knew from a fight so explosive conversation was cut off. Isaac had somehow spoke to her and halfway through the year a blonde bombshell appeared in his life with timid smiles and brief conversations with Derek. They stayed in contact but Derek from the get go said things wouldn't be the same. 

“So how is expanding the coffee shops going?”

“Slow and steady wins the race.”

“Hm, Laura still on your ass?”

“When is she not on my ass. Get the plates will you?” Derek answered over his shoulder. Stiles stood getting two plates and Jamie's little plate out for spaghetti and meatballs. Always a favorite amongst them. “Hopefully we should be able to open another but who knows? It's Laura's baby, she just can't do anything without my say so as well.”

Stiles hummed pressing a kiss to his shoulder and got the table set for dinner. What he found though sitting there was a lack of appetite and pushed his food around eating a few mouthfuls before giving up.

“Are you okay?” Derek asked concerned.

“Yeah, just tired, I think...a hot shower and an early night is needed,” he murmured rubbing his temples.

“Go, go take a shower, get into bed. I'll take care of Jamie and get him down for his sleep.”

“You sure?”

“Go,” Derek instructed. Stiles nodded pushing to stand and press a kiss into Jamie's hair before heading upstairs. He turned the shower up hot before stripping off his suit and tie to get in and heave a soft sight out in response. It felt so good. Stiles stayed under until his fingers pruned and he sighed softly heading out. 

It felt good to fall into the covers once he was dried and warm all over. It felt nice to pull the covers over his head and close his eyes for unconscious. He slipped away much better than he imagined and had a heavy sleep until Stiles felt Derek slip under the covers.

“Sorry,” Derek whispered against his ear.

“Did he go to bed okay?”

“I read two bedtime stories and he went straight to sleep without a problem. How are you feeling?”

“I'm okay,” he mumbled sleepily. Derek nosed his neck gently and held him close to his body. Stiles was able to slip off again without an issue and the next sound he heard was his alarm which he slapped off. Stiles groaned feeling weird and heavy with sleep still when he rolled onto his back.

“I don't want to work,” he whined.

“Have to,” Derek murmured. Stiles sat up in response and sighed rubbing his fingers over his forehead feeling a pressure. Derek stroked his back gently and he looked over to him. 

“You feeling okay?”

“Yeah, just sleepy, I'll get the coffee on.”

Stiles peeked in Jamie's bed to see his cover knocked on the floor and Jamie spread out like a starfish. It was amusing and he left him to it to head downstairs. There was a chill in the house and he turned the heating on in response. The coffee pot was put on and he set about wanting to make himself breakfast but again found no appetite. 

“Why are you not eating breakfast?”

“Not hungry,” he frowned stirring a sugar into his coffee. “Lost my appetite.”

“You never lose your appetite,” Derek said softly.

“I know, just not hungry I guess.”

Stiles took a sip of his coffee and instantly regretted it putting it down and wrinkling his nose. It didn't taste good at all. 

“God, even coffee is against me today. I feel weird and off,” he muttered, pushing away from the counter. Derek moved closer and pressed a hand against his forehead. 

“Maybe you should stay off. You don't look good.”

“I feel fine, just tired, and have no appetite. It'll be okay.”

“I don't trust that.”

“Okay, well trust me, the owner of this body,” he said clasping his hands with his and leaning into kiss him. “It could be a bug...”

“We don't get sick.”

“Aaron got the common cold last year.”

“Aaron is full of shit and when have you ever been sick?” Derek cried.

“I think when I was a kid? I got the flu for like three days. Plus my mom, you know, got dementia and died even though she too was a werewolf.”

“You don't have dementia,” Derek stated. “Stiles, if you're getting sick, stay off work.”

“I'm not sick! I'm fine, just tired,” he repeated, heading out the kitchen and heading upstairs. “Stop fussing, baby.”

“You only call me baby when you're trying to calm me down.”

“Works doesn't it?” he called back and headed to Jamie's bedroom to wake him up. Jamie moaned about being woken up but was appeased by the mention of cereal. Jamie held onto his hand as they walked down the stairs and he was handed off to Derek who shot him a knowing look. He blew him a kiss in response and moved onto getting dressed for work. Derek always worried, it was his nature. 

“I want you to call me at lunch time,” Derek said from the doorway. Stiles turned doing his tie and nodded once.

“Fine, for your sanity.”

“Try and eat when you get there. Even if there is no appetite, your body needs it.”

“Yes sir,” he whispered. Derek rolled his eyes and slid his hand over his tie before pulling him into a kiss. Stiles sighed into it and hooked his hands behind his neck. 

“I just worry,” he whispered against his lips. “If you're acting different, I'm going to worry.”

“Because I'm not eating, oh come on, it's no big worry. Go to work and don't worry, well as much as you can,” Stiles murmured. “I love you.”

“Love you too.”

Stiles slapped his ass and slipped out of his grasp to grab his coat and head off for work. It was an overcast day and he glanced up with a wrinkle of his nose. He prayed for a hot summer. Stiles got into the car and set it up to ring Scott on his way.

“Hey, you still up for tonight? I seriously need bro time.”

“Yeah, I'm looking forward to it, you know how I love bowling.”

“I need a night out, Derek is minding Jamie. My begging does nothing, well outside the bedroom,” he grinned knowing it would gross Scott out. 

“Oh dude please, why are you intent on hinting at your sex life?”

“Still punishing you for walking in on a porno for myself and my family over a year later. I'm nearly at work, I'll ring you at five.”

“Okay dude,” Scott said ending the call swiftly. Stiles arrived and parked the car, he breathed deeply and pulled down the mirror. He didn't look too bad, a little peaky but nothing extreme. His eyes closed and he inhaled in and out before stepping out and heading inside. 

“Hey, hey,” Aaron called out to him. “How are you this dreary Wednesday morning?”

“Like crap, how are you?”

“I'm good.”

“You got oral sex this morning didn't you?”

“What?! No,” Aaron protested weakly. “Okay, maybe, just maybe I brought home a cute girl and she stayed the night. I got a hand job!”

“Oh my god, I am so jealous of this hand job,” Stiles deadpanned. “How will I ever live on?!”

“Shut up. It was good, she has good hands.”

“I don't really care.” 

“Someone is grouchy, I am guessing you got none.”

“No, not this morning, but while you're single ass gets a hand job every once a time, I get rimmed and fucked and blown and sixty nine and I get that on a regular basis,” he said with a grin. Aaron held up his middle finger walking away from him as he laughed and sat at his desk. 

It was a hard days work in front of him and he loaded his computer and got out what he needed to do. There was no time to eat. Stiles went about it ignoring any signs of fatigue and twists of weirdness inside of him because it was nothing. It had to be nothing. Until he stood up at half eleven and felt a strange wave of dizziness. His eyes clouded and his skin heated to the point of a temperature before a long dark fall to the ground.

“Stiles, Stiles!” a voice shouted to him over and over again. His eyes opened slowly to see Aaron hovering over him and a crowd of people staring down at him. He had fainted. 

“What,” he breathed struggling to sit up.

“Whoa, not so fast, you feeling okay?”

“How long was I out?”

“Not long,” a female member of staff he didn't know said. She knelt down offering him a cup of water which he accepted feeling shaken and sweaty.

“Should we call an ambulance?” a voice whispered.

“No, oh my god, no, I'm fine, I'll be okay,” he called loudly. Aaron moved him so he was leaning against the wall and ordered everyone to walk away.

“You scared me dude, I was walking back from Stanner's and saw you drop! You fainted, are you sick? Was I right yesterday?” Aaron whispered shocked. 

“I don't feel sick, Aaron, I haven't eaten today. No appetite, just...nausea,” he whispered, staring at him so Aaron raised an eyebrow. “I feel sick. I never feel sick.”

“Well you haven't eaten...”

“I can go hours without eating. I had Jamie as a baby, I coped for hours without eating, I trained my body to make do!” he muttered. “Fuck.”

“Can you stand?”

“Yeah, help me up,” Stiles muttered standing on unsteady feet. 

“I think you should go home, Stiles, you look pale as fuck.”

“Yeah, maybe,” he murmured, sitting down and closing his eyes. “You got any food?”

“Yeah,” Aaron said walking away and returning with a brownie. Stiles murmured his gratitude and took a bite out of the chocolatey goodness. It made his stomach twist but he continued on and ate till it was gone and the dizziness slipped away. None of it made sense and he rubbed a hand over his hair sipping the water.

“I'm going to go see Stanner's, tell him I need to go home.”

Aaron nodded and he made his way over to see his boss who took one look at him and told him to go home. Stiles wasn't about to go home or call Derek so he'd worry. 

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” he repeated once he was in the car and he rubbed a hand down his face. There was only two causes for omegas and sickness. One was being ill with a bug or virus the other was pregnancy. Something he hadn't felt since he was pregnant with Jamie. Stiles sighed deeply starting the car and made his way to the store while ringing Laura. 

“Hello?”

“Laura, it's me, are you alone?”

“At the moment, yes, I have a meeting with Derek in half an hour.”

“Cancel it, make up some lie, say you're on your period. I don't care, I need to see you.”

“Whoa,” Laura muttered. “Is everything okay?”

“I don't know yet, just – are you still in the apartment?”

“Yes, you're worrying me,” Laura murmured.

Stiles twisted his mouth and tapped his thumb thoughtfully. “It's nothing bad, I'll be there in twenty minutes. Just got to go the store.”

“Okay,” she replied carefully and he cut the call off driving to the local store. He ended up getting out and buying five tests. If this was going to happen then he needed more than one to confirm his pregnancy. The cashier cocked an eyebrow but I guess his stony look set her silence as she accepted his money and he walked away. 

Laura was waiting for him once he arrived and she buzzed him. Her hair wavy and framing her face as she answered the door glaring at him.

“The fuck? What the hell is going on?”

“I think I'm pregnant,” he said softly shutting the door. Laura was wide eyed and silent watching him and he clicked his fingers in front of her face. 

“Holy shit!” she hissed walking with him. “How can you tell?”

“No appetite and I fainted in work.”

“Holy...” she trailed off, her eyes trailing up and down him. “Does Derek know? I lied to him, told him I was on my period and in too much pain.”

“No, we're not telling him yet, he's already worried. I'm tired, I have no appetite, nausea, I fucking fainted,” Stiles said softly, his hand drew out the seat and he sat down. “My last heat was seven weeks ago. I took the pills, I remember.”

“How many did you take during the whole of it?”

“Two, three,” he murmured. “Maybe not enough now I think about it.”

Stiles dropped the brown bag on the table and Laura tipped them out so the boxes clattered on the table. She met his eyes and he swallowed hard. 

“Would it be so bad if you were?”

“We didn't exactly plan it, it wouldn't be bad, but...but unexpected.”

“Jamie was unexpected.”

Stiles tilted his head and closed his eyes exhaling heavily. “I just need to do this, get it over and done with. You got juice? I need to piss like a horse to do these.”

Laura smirked faintly standing up to bring out her juice and he grabbed it drinking straight from the bottle. His nerves fluttered like butterflies inside of him and his hand was shaking once he was done drinking. He grabbed the first box and popped it open staring down at it. Laura met his eyes when he looked up and nodded once. 

“Let's see if we've got a baby.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who wants a baby? Or...babies. 
> 
> /runs away laughing


	13. Chapter 13

Stiles chucked down the final test and turned it over with the others. Laura faced him, her expression calm and serene watching him take a seat. The tests were all faced down waiting for their reveal. His heart was beating too loudly in his ears and he swallowed hard fighting back the urge to vomit. Laura sighed deeply reaching over to turn one and he nodded his assent to that. It was turned and he watched her expression and the tightness faded to a small smile.

“Positive.” 

“Oh fuck,” he whispered, reaching over to turn the others. “Positive, positive, positive, positive. Oh my god!”

Laura covered her mouth with her hands staring at him with too wide eyes. Stiles sat back exhaling shakily, his hand resting on his stomach and he swallowed the lump in his throat. 

“Pregnant, actually pregnant, oh my fucking god,” he whispered, his hand pushing his body to stand and he walked away to stand by the windows. “It explains why I feel weird. I felt like this when I was having Jamie.” 

“Well,” Laura began slowly. “Isn't this a good thing? Circumstances are different. It's not like before with some low life getting you knocked up. This is a pregnancy between a mated alpha and omega. You have a home, a life, everything in the palm of your hand. Plus you're giving Derek a baby. You can't tell me this is bad news.”

“It's not bad news, it's just unexpected. We've only been mated for a year! We weren't planning a baby. Not now anyway, maybe in a couple of years. Jamie is only three, just started preschool, I have my job, you and Derek are opening more coffee shops. Oh my god, the timing is just...shit,” he muttered, his hand rubbing through his hair. “Probably my fault. I didn't take the pill as much as I should have.”

“They only work ninety seven per cent of the time anyway. Nothing is guaranteed but this baby exists right now. My brother needs to know.”

“I'll tell him, don't worry about that.” 

“Are you not at least a bit happy?” Laura prodded. 

“I am happy, of course I am,” Stiles murmured turning to lean against the window. “It's our baby, something I know Derek has dreamed about for a long time. Even before we were together he asked me about having babies in the future. I didn't know how to answer him. It was a strange feeling.”

“I'm going to be auntie! I mean I know I am right now to Jamie but I'll be a blood auntie to this little one!” she said, her hands slapping her mouth and she jumped up and down excitedly. Stiles huffed out a laugh when she hugged him tight. “I am so happy for you! Another little baby being brought into our lives. How is that not amazing?!”

“It is, it is amazing, you got any vodka?”

“No,” she said slapping his arm so he laughed shakily and rubbed a hand through his hair. “Orange juice, plenty of vitamin c for baby.”

“Yeah.” he murmured. Laura was a mother hen feeding him and forcing orange juice down his mouth till he was ready to burst and leave.

“Call me later, okay?”

“Will do, thanks for this,” he murmured, his hand squeezing hers so she leaned in and kissed his cheek. Stiles worried his bottom lip walking to the car and he climbed in buckling up. His fingers brushing over his stomach and he exhaled shakily thinking of the little life growing inside of him. He frowned glancing down and yanked up his shirt brushing his fingers over the slight bulge. It was only small but a difference from his flat stomach, something he hadn't paid any attention to at first. Now he knew what it was, he was showing. He was showing already and he didn't show for weeks with Jamie. 

Stiles swallowed dropping his shirt and started the car up to drive to a store. If he was going to tell him, he'd surprise him first. It was pretty easy to find a pair of booties in a baby store. The material soft and white, the sides covered with a duckling. The cashier smiled at him when he handed them over and he smiled in return. He got a gift bag and sealed them in. Derek's car was in the driveway when he arrived and parked up.

“Hey,” he called walking in.

“Hey,” Derek greeted him confused. “Why are you home? Are you sick?”

“No, not sick,” he said, shaking his head and leaning into kiss him. “But we need to talk.”

Derek's mouth twisted a little but he nodded following him into the living room. They took a seat and he faced him taking his hand. 

“I'm not sick, so to speak, I probably will be sooner rather than later. It was always a nightmare.”

“What was? Stiles, you're scaring me.”

“Here,” he said, handing him the gift bag and watched his face crease with confusion. His hand moved and he peeled apart the bag to look inside and his whole body just froze staring down. Stiles didn't dare move or speak, he watched Derek pull the booties out and stare at them in awe and confusion. His eyes impossibly wide staring at him and down at his stomach before looking back at the booties. 

“You're...”

“I'm pregnant, Derek.”

“Baby?”

“Yes,” he murmured with a small smile. Derek exhaled shakily dropping the booties down onto the couch and hauled him closer to him. Stiles laughed nervously and straddled his lap, Derek's face pushed into his neck breathing hard. His hand gripped his waist, the other stroking his stomach. 

“You're really pregnant.”

“Explains why I'm feeling so weird plus...I fainted in work.”

“What?” Derek demanded pulling back. “Stiles!”

“I didn't know it was going to happen! I left work, bought some tests, went to Laura's, took five of the things and they were all positive. I'm seven weeks pregnant!” 

“The heat...” Derek whispered.

“Yes.”

“Oh,” he murmured. “Laura knew before me? I'm the father!”

“I needed to know myself! Laura was the first person who came to mind and I needed a rational head instead of you tearing the joint up.”

Derek nuzzled closer to him and he stroked his fingers through his hair watching him closely. “You're happy, right?”

“Yes, yes, Stiles, you're having my baby,” Derek breathed, his hands framing his jaw and he kissed him desperately. Stiles smiled against his lips and pulled back breathing deeply and eying him carefully. 

“I know it wasn't planned but we're going to give Jamie a baby brother or sister to look after and play with when he's older,” Derek said softly, his hand pressing against his stomach to feel the firmness there. “There's already a little bump.”

“Yeah, surprised me as well, I wasn't showing with Jamie for weeks. I mean it could be water weight but then again...” he trailed off staring at Derek who met his eyes. 

“What?”

“Twins, you got any on your side of the family?”

“My dad's. He was a twin.”

“Seriously?!” Stiles exclaimed staring down at his stomach. “So there's not just a baby, it could be babies now!”

“Possibly,” Derek murmured. Stiles rolled his eyes but leaned forward to wrap his arms around his neck and kiss him. “Two babies with your eyes.”

“God help them,” Stiles whispered. “Or him, or her, I'm sure we'll find out!” 

For now they exchanged kisses, Derek's hands tracing his bump so he smiled thinking of the life growing inside of him. 

“I can't believe it,” Derek whispered, flipping him gently so he landed on the couch with a gentle huff of amusement. Derek hovering over him to kiss and pepper his neck with soft kisses. His kisses traveling down to nuzzle his stomach, a soft growl coming out when he rest his head there. “Hello baby.”

“Oh my god, you're adorable,” Stiles murmured, tugging him up to kiss him. “Yes, we made a baby.”

“I love you so much.”

“I love you too,” Stiles grinned. Derek rubbed his hands all over his, his mouth kissing his mating mark and nuzzling it. He was lost in the scent and presence of his alpha and opened his eyes startled when someone rang the doorbell. Derek instantly growled, a protective stance over him as he glared at the hallway. 

“Really?” Stiles questioned. “Oh god, I forgot about this...”

“Forgot what?”

“Overprotective alpha instincts to protect his mated and pregnant omega from start to finish. I remember my science classes, my one oh one on getting pregnant by an alpha. Move, come on, it's probably Mrs MacDonald from next door.”

Derek hovered behind him, a hand on his back and he overstepped him to open the door and Stiles rolled his eyes.

“Hello dear!” Mrs MacDonald cried cheerfully. The smell of garlic hit him and he gagged walking away to the kitchen breathing in clean air. The woman adored them, she was forever bringing them meals, her adoration for Jamie bringing her along. Derek was muttering to her in the hallway and he turned once the front door closed. He walked in holding a dish covered in clingfilm.

“Oh god, Derek, please eat it or put it away,” Stiles muttered, his hand covering his nose because he felt so sick. Derek dumped it into the bin and closed the lid stashing the container in the dishwasher. 

“I've never been keen on garlic chicken.”

“Hm,” Stiles agreed wrinkling his nose. 

“Are you hungry?”

“No, I could do with a nap though before we pick Jamie up.”

“Okay, nap it is,” Derek said, holding out his hand. Stiles took his hand and let him lead him upstairs towards their bed. Derek laid down first before taking him into his arms and pressed soft kisses into his hair and on his forehead. It was comforting and he practically purred washing in his scent. 

Stiles didn't have this with Matthew. Matthew wanted to be there for him but most of the time Stiles was left pining for an alpha who didn't care. Stealing his shirts to inhale the smell and calm him down enough to sleep at night. While he went out fucking and drinking, Stiles was on the web looking up symptoms and baby names. His hand pressed his scent to his nose so he could pretend everything was okay. 

Things were going to be different now and he closed his eyes, his cheek pressed to his chest letting sleep wash over him. The alarm was set so they could pick Jamie up and he startled out of his dreams once it beeped. Derek slammed his fingers down cutting it off and Stiles sighed wriggling his limbs awake. 

“Now that, that was a great nap,” Stiles mumbled, his body stretching out so he sighed blissfully. Derek was watching him, a fondness etched around the eyes. “What you looking at?”

“You, you're beautiful.”

“You're corny,” Stiles whispered, a smile breaking the surface. “But so are you. Come on, we need to get Jamie. Then go the store. I think we need baby magazines and those vitamins.”

Derek nodded once pushing up to stand and rub a hand through his tousled hair. His hand stroked down his stomach and again it felt soft yet firm. It was going to harden up, it was going to fill with the life of a child. It hit him over again and he couldn't quite believe it. Stiles stuffed his feet into his shoes and grabbed his jacket so they could go pick Jamie up. Derek opened the car door for him and he fought the urge to roll his eyes. This was only the start. Stiles got a glimpse of protective Derek before and he knew once he got bigger it would intensify. It was an alpha's job to care and nurture and protect his omega. But once the omega was pregnant, things would really kick off. He was in a vulnerable state so to speak and nothing would stop Derek protecting him and the pup from anything potentially harmful.

Jamie ran towards them excited when they arrived together and he jumped reaching for his hand.

“Did you have a nice day?!”

“Yeah, I painted again, look,” he said, handing the picture to Derek who cooed over it. It was a mess of different colors and shapes. 

“That's amazing!” Derek cried in response. “My little artist.”

Jamie preened under the attention and Stiles got him into his seat at the back of the car. Derek drove them to the store and they got Jamie out and put him in the shopping cart. They went around the aisles picking up things they didn't have. Stiles chucked in the latest pregnancy magazines, three bottles of vitamins for male pregnancies. He was pushing the cart around the condiments when he noticed Derek was missing. He was in the meat section when he appeared holding two sleeping suits. It was a panda sleeping suit and he smiled staring at it.

“Don't you think it's a little soon to be buying baby stuff? And why two?”

“I know but I saw it and I imagined our baby wearing it and just in case it could be twins, I mean it may not be but they'll have two...” he trailed off, his teeth pressing into his bottom lip. Stiles laughed taking them off him and put it into the cart. 

“Fine, we'll buy them. Even though I am only two months pregnant. We'll have to book an an appointment with my doctor. He was dead nice last time, plus find out if we're having one or two or hell...three.”

“Three?” Derek whispered in awe.

“Calm it, I'm not your breeding machine.”

“I'm surprised you haven't got any morning sickness yet.”

“It varies,” Stiles explained placing the items on the belt. “So far it's tiredness, dizziness, nausea, and not wanting to eat things. We're halfway there, I'm sure it'll happen soon. I was later with Jamie as well.”

“We'll call tomorrow.”

Jamie stood in the cart watching the cashier scan the items through. Derek pulled out his card and paid for them and insisted on putting the bags in.

“I'm not an invalid. I'm pregnant, not dying,” he whined, trailing after him.

“Well you can get in practice for when you can't do any heavy lifting.”

“Fuck you,” Stiles called to his back pleasantly. 

“Language,” Derek admonished. “We have young ears here.”

Stiles narrowed his eyes but didn't argue the case. He pulled Jamie out and got him into his seat. Derek took charge that night when they got in and he put Jamie in the living room with the television on. He set about making dinner and sat Stiles down with a big glass of orange juice and the magazines.

“Rest,” he ordered.

Stiles smirked at him but obliged to the small demand. He flicked through the shiny pages looking at newborn babies. The dos and don'ts of what to do whilst pregnant. Baby weight and what to do to shift it. It was an interesting read and he was disturbed by Jamie slipping up to him and wiggling to sit on his lap.

“What's this?”

“Baby magazines.”

“Why?”

“Because I'm reading one,” he explained. They shouldn't tell him just yet, he wouldn't understand. Better to do it further down the line when he was actually showing and he could understand his new brother or sister. “I'll explain to you soon why, okay?”

“Okay,” Jamie said softly. Stiles could only hope he didn't get jealous once the baby arrived. He rest his chin on top of his head and leaned back staring at the television with a soft sigh.

*

Stiles had forgotten what it was like to wake up in the morning with the urge to vomit. It looked like his body was waiting for his acknowledgment of the pregnancy before it decided to throw up. It was half five of all times to wake up nauseous, his stomach swimming and knotted enough for him to startle upwards. His feet stumbled and he barely managed to launch the lid up and vomit into it. His throat burning and his body trembling from the force of it. Derek appeared out of nowhere dropping down next to him, his eyes squinting in the bright light of their bathroom. He didn't speak getting him a glass of water which he accepted gratefully.

“It only took three days,” he mumbled. Derek leaned in pressing his lips to his forehead, his hand rubbing his back gently so he sipped the water slowly. It felt good on his burning throat and he leaned into Derek gratefully.

“It's for a good cause.”

“Sure,” he murmured and gagged a little turning towards the toilet. Derek stayed with him till he was finished emptying his stomach into the bowl. He flushed it away and stood on shaky legs. Derek led him back to the bed and he lay down with a soft whimper.

“I forgot all this bullshit. Throwing up, nausea, oh and the cravings! I craved pickles, peanut butter, and toast. Together. It was awful now I think about it.”

Derek pulled a face at his cravings but joined him in bed, his hand stroking over his stomach. “I'm proud of you. We have the doctors today.”

“Mm, that's a good thing I suppose. We'll probably get a scan, see our little bean.”

Derek smiled into his shoulder, his lips nipping over his mark to kiss it and rub his scent there. Stiles turned his head letting him scent him, his hands stroking over his skin so he shivered and huddled closer.

“You smell incredible,” Derek whispered.

“What do I smell like?”

“Fresh, sweet, the first inhale of a flower,” he murmured. Stiles scoffed gently peering back at him to meet his eyes.

“Oh come on!”

“You do, it's a pleasant scent, the scent of a pregnant omega. Male or female, you smell nice, like me and like that.”

“Fine,” Stiles murmured. “I smell like you and fucking flowers.”

“Be proud.”

Stiles pouted twisting to look at him and kiss his jaw gently. “It's the start of everything. We can decorate the nursery, buy everything new, tell people. My dad, oh my god, telling my dad he has a new grandchild on the way. It's just going to make him more determined than ever to move to here. He keeps talking about it.”

“Would it be so bad?”

“No, no, of course not, but it's a big thing to give up. I mean he's lived in that house for years. My mom and dad bought it together.” 

“Whatever decision he makes, it'll be to benefit you and to benefit him.”

“I suppose,” Stiles replied gently. Conversation died out and they dozed in and out of a fitful sleep till the alarm went and it was time to get up. Stiles had booked the day off work to attend the doctor's appointment. Jamie was going to preschool as usual. Derek was getting him ready while Stiles remained in the bedroom. He twisted to the side in the front of the floor length mirror.

“Two months, two months pregnant, that is is eight weeks, and look,” Stiles cried pointing at his stomach. “Tiny little bump, but no longer a flat stomach. I wasn't showing with Jamie until around four months!”

“Well every pregnancy is different and we'll find out in a matter of hours.”

“I guess,” he mumbled zipping up his jeans and heading out of there. They were dropping off Jamie first before getting breakfast and heading to the doctors. Stiles was nervous. Nervous to do this all over again and bring in yet another life. But excitement built alongside that and butterflies fluttered in his stomach imagining a baby looking like Derek. 

The doctor's hadn't changed since he had last been and he unbuckled looking around at Derek who followed him inside. They signed in at reception and Stiles took a seat grabbing a magazine. 

“Is it a long wait?”

“Not usually, look around, not that many people,” he said with a gesture. “You feeling nervous?”

Derek shook his head but Stiles saw the lie. “Liar, you're as nervous as I am about this baby.”

He didn't reply but he took his hand into his squeezing it tight. It was a wait time of fifteen minutes before they were called in. 

“Stiles, it's been some time,” Doctor O'Connor spoke fondly. “Pregnant again?”

“Yeah or cooking an alien,” Stiles shrugged with a smirk. “No I took a test three days ago, five of them, all positive. Plus a whole load of dizziness, nausea, fainting spells, morning sickness. This is Derek, my mate, he's the baby daddy.”

“Pleasure. Sounds like a bun is in the oven. Five tests?” he questioned them amused. “Let me just take a blood sample and then we'll have a look at what's going on.”

Stiles nodded turning his head away when the needle went into his arm. Blood was always a hard spot for him but once it was taken he felt better. Derek was rigid at his side, his hand clamped tight around his, his eyes assessing Doctor O'Connor. 

“Chill,” Stiles nudged him gently. “It's routine.”

“Don't worry, it's standard procedure,” Doctor O'Connor injected with a calm and professional smile. Derek nodded a stiff head and Stiles squeezed his hand once before letting go to lie on the table. The gel was squirted onto his stomach and he leaned back letting the doctor work his magic. Derek stood by his side yet again, his hand touching his hair gently.

“Now let's have a look see,” Doctor O'Connor said softly. The transducer pressed against his abdomen and he swallowed hard. 

“Everything looks...looks great,” he said slowly, his other hand pressing buttons before he turned the screen towards them. “But we have more than one.”

Stiles gaped pulling his head up to look at the two blobs on screen. Twins. They were having twins.

“Twins,” Stiles confirmed. “I knew it! I knew I was bigger than I should have been. You bastard.”

Derek met his eyes before turning back to look at the screen awestruck. His fingers digging a little into his scalp to look at the their twins currently growing inside of him. 

“I take it this is good news,” Doctor O'Connor said looking between them. 

“Yeah, yeah, this – this is good news,” Derek whispered. His hand tilting his chin up to lay one on him. His lips were soft and a little desperate against his and he noticed Doctor O'Connor leave the room. 

“I knew it,” he hissed against his lips.

“We're having two babies,” Derek murmured.

Stiles closed his eyes with a small smile and wrapped his arms around his neck tightly. It felt good to hold him, to have Derek surround him and press kisses into his hair and forehead. Derek nuzzled his cheek and they both looked up when the doctor returned. 

“Since this is round two of this, you already know the ins and outs of carrying a child. But these are twins, makes your pregnancy...more high risk shall we say.”

“High risk?” Derek questioned concerned.

“Nothing to worry yourselves over, no, it's as always standard procedure dealing with multiples in pregnancy. Keeping an eye on those pups, their development, any issues or complications. If you feel something is wrong, come here or your nearest hospital as soon as possible. I'll book you in for another scan in three weeks for your twelfth week.” 

“You're a star, doc, as always,” Stiles said, sliding off the table and wiping the gel away. Derek's face was twisted into a frown that wouldn't ease even when they left and he sighed deeply stopping him in the parking lot.

 

“What is it?”

“High risk,” Derek said slowly.

“Derek, it's high risk for all male pregnancies. Just more so when there are two or three or hell even four involved. They'll keep an eye on me, eye on the twins, making sure me and the babies are okay. It's nothing to worry about, I promise,” he murmured, his hand stroking down his neck to try and comfort him. 

Derek gathered him up in his arms and pressed a hard kiss to his forehead. “I don't want anything happening to you. I couldn't...”

“What?” Stiles whispered into his neck.

“Lose you.”

“What? Derek, you're not going to lose me!”

“You hear of omegas dying in childbirth, the pain, everything, it's too much for them,” Derek argued. Stiles pulled back to cup his cheeks and force him to meet his eye.

“Look at me, I am not going to die in childbirth, Derek. Yeah, some do, it's the world we live in, some aren't strong enough. Me? I am. I gave birth to Jamie and I'm going to birth these twins and everything is going to be fine. Do you trust me?”

“You know I do.”

“Then trust in me, okay?” he pleaded.

“Okay,” Derek murmured after a long moment and Stiles squeezed his eyes hugging him tight. Stiles would never fault Derek for worrying about him because it was always going to be that one worry every new parent would feel. Complications, survival, but Stiles was sure of his. He'd always be sure of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I always write a pregnancy or a wedding at the end and it's all lovely and happy. I'm a sucker for a happy ending. Well I'm doing it a little differently and I am going to stir it all up. There's always something shit around the corner when everything is going perfectly. This isn't Disney, folks! (But there will be a happy ending because this is fiction and I say so)
> 
> (:


	14. Chapter 14

Derek opened one eyes listening to the covers rustle and Stiles stumble out of them. He pushed up glancing at the alarm clock informing it was two minutes after half five. Stiles' morning sickness liked to make early appearances without fail each morning. Stiles retched into the bowl of the toilet, the wet splashes of his vomit a horrible sound in the early morning. Derek slipped out of bed and opened the window to let in some cool air. It was getting warmer and he knew Stiles was dreading it. Stiles was sitting braced against the wall breathing deeply in and out of his mouth.

“Here,” he whispered. Stiles took the offered glass of water gratefully and took a sip swirling his mouth before spitting. His hands were shaking and Derek sat on the floor rubbing his back as he retched and whimpered. Derek wrapped his arms around his shaking body and pressed gentle kisses into his hair once he was done. Stiles clung to him and soon it subsided enough for him to sweep him up bridal and carry him to bed. 

“You're doing so well,” Derek whispered.

Stiles mumbled unintelligibly under his breath, his eyes slipping closed, his palm pressing against his chest curling together. Derek kissed his forehead and held him close feeling his breaths against his chest even out deeply. His hand strayed down towards his babies and he bit his lip hard feeling the bump there. Still small but noticeable under a tight top. His babies, their pups, they were growing rapidly every day. It was a strange feeling, one he had never believed to have all those years back. 

They were his to protect and it glowed so fiercely thinking about it. He listened to the slow steady thump of Jamie's heartbeat in his bedroom and it warmed him. Derek leaned into rub his scent over his mating mark and he remained there breathing in his scent. It was calming to him, the only thing to keep him calm and mellowed out. Stiles stirred batting gently at his head and he smiled faintly shushing him. He ducked his head to kiss over his heart and dozed with him till the alarm started beeping. Stiles groaned rolling away, shaking his head, and Derek slapped it off. 

“Stay off work today.”

“Okay,” Stiles mumbled sleepily. Derek kissed his temple and slipped out of the bed to go wake Jamie up for preschool. It was important to keep a routine of that. Jamie, just like Stiles, complained about being woken up and pouted shaking his head. 

“No, please, papa, don't want to,” he pleaded, his eyes too like Stiles swimming in moisture. 

“But you love school.”

“No! Don't want to!” he screeched, his tears falling, his hands gripping his sweatpants. 

“Okay, okay, you can stay home,” he muttered. He was too tired to deal with the mother of all tantrums and he held his hand going downstairs. Jamie sat waiting patiently for his breakfast after he flashed his eyes at him once he started fussing.

“Toast and juice, eat up,” he said putting it down in front of him. He made a coffee and walked upstairs with a cup of orange juice and a vitamin pill.

“Here,” he said, hand on Stiles' shoulder to wake him up. Stiles grumbled pressing on his elbow to take it and drink his juice. 

“Where's Jamie?”

“Didn't want to go to school. Pulled the water works and I'm too tired and weak to argue with him.”

“Undone by a three year old pup. Should be ashamed of yourself,” Stiles teased. “Fine, he can have one day off. Probably feels restless, they can always feel when something is off.”

“Probably sensed it weeks back. We should think about telling the others. Laura knows but you're nearly twelve weeks in four days. Babies are growing strong and soon you'll be in the second trimester.”

“Yeah, I guess you're right. We should get them all around here, surprise them,” he murmured, popping the pill into his mouth and swallowing it down. “I'll cook burgers, everyone loves burgers.”

“Okay,” Derek murmured rubbing his thigh. Stiles shot him a small smile lying back down, his arms stretched over his head blissfully happy. He leaned in stealing a quick kiss before leaving him to it and heading downstairs. Jamie crawled into his lap watching cartoons with him till Stiles got up and headed downstairs to join them.

“No school today, monkey?”

“No, papa said I didn't have to, didn't you, papa?” Jamie cried, his eyes pleading turned towards him. 

“For one day, you're going back tomorrow. School is important, it's where you learn and you make loads of friends and have fun!” Derek exclaimed. Jamie frowned and Stiles snorted softly with laughter at his expression. It was too like Stiles. 

“What happened to your girlfriend?” Stiles teased him. 

“No,” Jamie cried wrinkling his nose. His head shaking as he looked up at him. “Girls are not nice.”

“True,” Stiles murmured. Derek rolled his eyes shoving his arm gently. “They are nice, just got to find them.”

“Boys are better,” Jamie mumbled, his face pushing into his chest so he chuckled rubbing a hand through his hair. He met Stiles' eyes and he was smirking at Jamie fondly. 

“You should eat.”

“Not hungry,” Stiles protested with a shake of his head.

“Stiles...”

“I know, I know, but I know if I eat it I'll just throw it back up.”

“Yeah but you have two others living inside of you who need the nutrients,” Derek argued gently. Stiles scowled down at his hands before giving in with a heavy sigh. He pushed up and headed into the kitchen and Derek smiled faintly listening to him getting out cereal and a bowl. Stiles returned with the bowl and sat down looking at him pointedly.

“Good, I'll get you some more ginger candy today and that ginger ale the nurse recommended for us. It'll help with the nausea.”

“Fine,” Stiles mumbled. Jamie wriggled off his lap and launched off to run to the stairs and go up to his bedroom. Derek watched from the corner of his eye while Stiles ate and drank the milk from the bowl, the spool clattering into it with a satisfying clank. 

“There, done, nutrients, Tweedledee and Tweedledum will be very happy.”

“Don't call our babies that.”

“Fine, our...peanuts, they looks like peanuts,” Stiles muttered moodily. Derek huffed closing his eyes and reopened them to follow him into the kitchen. 

“Peanuts who are changing my moods like there is no tomorrow! I am so sick of waking up at the crack of fucking dawn to throw up last night's dinner. I am sick of the aches and pains and I am barely three months pregnant. I am not carrying one but two babies who are going to kick and punch and stamp on my bladder for fun. Jamie did it, Jamie was a nightmare while I carried him, and now I have our babies growing inside of me. I mean those are the negatives, the positives are of course a lot better. The first kick, the first hiccup, the first movement, seeing them on the screens, learning what the sex is if you want to know,” Stiles ranted, yanking open the dishwasher to peer inside and get the dishes out.

“That's why I am so proud of you,” Derek complimented. His hand gripped his forcing him to stop and look at him. He cupped his jaw to make him look into his eyes and kissed the tip of his nose. Stiles smirked at the gesture, his hands resting on his hips so they stared at one another. 

“Glad I've got you through this, not like last time.”

Derek bristled a little at the small sly mention of Matthew. Instead of voicing it, he tugged him into his arms and held him tight. Stiles smiled into his neck and held on breathing warm air into the crease of his neck. 

“I'm always going to be here, you're not going to go through this alone. Ever.” 

“I know that.”

Stiles' top was a little big on his shoulders and revealed the silvery mating mark. He nosed at his mark and Stiles sighed wrapping his arms around him tighter in response. Derek ran his hands down his back slowly, his hands reaching his hips before they strayed to his bump. His hands pushed under his baggy top to feel it. It was small, firm, and there was something amazing and slightly arousing about it. Who knew he had a pregnancy kink? 

“Mm, that feels good,” Stiles mumbled, his lips pressed against his neck. Derek hummed backing him up and lifted him to sit on the counter. He stood between his spread legs to nose at the softness of his neck.

“Tickles,” Stiles slurred a little, his nose brushing against his stubble so he laughed softly in response. Derek loved this. There was something comforting about scenting and he kissed his throat, feeling him swallow and shift underneath his careful touches. 

“You're beautiful,” he whispered into his skin. 

“Not so bad yourself,” Stiles whispered. He snorted rolling his eyes but continued to pepper his skin with gentle kisses. Derek didn't know he could love someone so much. The idea of love had been so foreign to him, too many bad relationships, too many people to screw him over for nothing more than sex and his money. Or murdering his entire family because of insanity and hate. But this was different, different and wonderful. He was his, nobody else's, nothing could take him away from him not ever. The possession inside of him rose up and he savored it. Stiles moaned softly under his hands and lips when he stroked and kissed him so softly he knew it was driving him insane. 

“Derek, please...” Stiles murmured, his legs wrapping firmly around his waist. He could feel how hard he was against his stomach. 

“Jamie,” Derek began.

“He's in his bedroom no doubt playing on his iPad,” he murmured, his teeth biting his bottom lip gently so he groaned in response. His hands digging into his hips so Stiles squeezed his ass cheeks with both hands. Lust drove him forward to drag Stiles off the counter so he squeaked in surprise. Derek didn't want him to be uncomfortable and carried him back to the couch dropping him down. They were both mindful of Jamie, could hear him in his bedroom on his iPad, the tinkling sounds of child's music and games playing.

Derek kissed him softly, Stiles moaning quietly underneath him till he slid down yanking off his jogging bottoms. The lack of underwear was good for him and he wrapped a hand around Stiles' cock. Stiles swore grabbing a pillow and slamming it over his face. Derek smirked at the desperate action to be quiet and ducked down sucking on the head. Dirty and fast was the key here and he sucked him down quickly.

His tongue trailing over the throbbing veins so his hips bucked and he moaned underneath the pillow. 

Derek shushed him softly. “I've got you, it's okay.”

He held him down and bobbed his head up down the length of his cock. His tongue and mouth doing most of the work to bring him off. Stiles strained underneath his hands and mouth, his hips wriggling under his grip and he knew he was close. Derek wrapped a hand around his balls and rolled and massaged them gently. His fingers stroking against his entrance and he kept him in his mouth once he reached it. The arch of his back beautiful once he climaxed into his mouth. Derek swallowed every hot splash of it till he was done and panting sated. 

“How are you feeling?” he whispered, whipping the pillow off him to see a red faced and sweaty Stiles staring at him. His answer was received in a desperate kiss, Stiles' arms thrown around him before his left was removed to move down him. He silently reached into his pants to wrap his long fingers around his cock. Derek gasped against his mouth feeling him jerk him off fast and dirty, his fingers slipping against the precome already lingering. 

“Fuck, Stiles,” he whispered, eyes squeezed closed to bask in the moment of it. Stiles huffed amused against his chin, his teeth scraping the skin and stubble so he arched into him. It felt so good. His hands cupped his bare cheeks to drag him impossibly close, the bump pressing against his stomach. 

“Come for me, baby,” Stiles crooned into his ear. That was his undoing. 

Pleasure throbbed through him and he moaned his release into the crook of Stiles' neck. The wet splash of his come hitting Stiles' hand and top. 

“Well that was fun,” Stiles murmured. “Dirty, but fun.”

“I love you,” Derek hissed, his hand gripping the back of his neck.

“I love you more,” he whispered defiantly. Derek huffed amused and shook his head kissing him. The taste of come and the smell of sex heavy on his mouth and in the air. They basked in each other till they had to separate and Stiles claimed the first shower. 

“Papa!” Jamie shouted down the stairs.

“Yes, Jamie?”

“Can we go to the park?” he pleaded with him. “Please, papa, please!”

“I'll ask dada and we'll see,” he called back to him. Jamie pouted but gave in with a sigh and a stomp of his feet knowing Stiles' word was final. 

Derek got the next shower and it felt refreshing to be cleaned and changed in proper clothes. He came downstairs to Jamie pleading and shouting to go to the park.

“You should be in school.”

“I didn't want to go! I hate school!” Jamie cried, eyes wet as he trailed around after Stiles. “Please, dada, please!”

“Jamie, stop shouting and stomping around. I said no, we're not going to the park when you should be in school. You demanded to be off school so you can stay inside and watch television or you can go into your bedroom and stay there,” he said sternly. Jamie screamed and cried kicking up a fuss.

“James John Stilinski,” Stiles cried, Jamie slapping at his hands when he reached to pick him up off the ground. Derek kept his silence and folded his arms over his chest letting him handle it. He already learned not to intervene. 

“Right,” Stiles cried, his hands gripping his arms to bring him up onto his hip and carry him upstairs. Jamie screaming for him broke his heart a little but he remained looking away and not giving in. 

“No, you stay in your bed, and you stay there. If you're going to be naughty and scream and shout and throw yourself on the floor then you can stay here. No iPad, no television,” Stiles said to Jamie who was crying loudly.

“No!”

“You can come downstairs after a time out, Jamie, and when time out is done you will come downstairs and say sorry,” Stiles called and closed the door behind him. He came downstairs with the iPad and a remote control for his television. 

“Toddlers, they know exactly how to test patience.”

“You did good.”

“I hate shouting at him, I feel mean,” he mumbled, walking into the kitchen and dropping the stuff down on the table.

“Not mean, a father, he was playing up, throwing tantrums and wanting his own way. It's not like that and we have to teach him that sometimes we don't get out own way in life.”

“Yeah,” Stiles sighed. “Not without a lot of money, manipulation, and a bribe.”

“Maybe we don't teach him that.”

Stiles smiled faintly and they both listened to Jamie's sobbing upstairs. 

“The trials of parenting,” Stiles muttered, moving to the dishwasher to unload. Something he had replaced for sex earlier. “Just wait to the peanuts get out. Double trouble.”

“I'm looking forward to it,” he admitted honestly. Derek stepped into help him out and Stiles stared at him, his lips quirked up in amusement and nothing more. 

*

Their first official scan is anticipated when they drop Jamie off at preschool and make their way there. Procedural questions were asked and yet again they were able to see their babies on screen. Tiny little humans with a beating heart. The nurse who was doing it seemed pleased with the results, checking if they were growing properly. 

“Everything looks good,” she said pleased, her eyes flicking between them both. Derek squeezed Stiles' hand and shot him a small smile of his own. They were given a scan photo of the two of them and Stiles took a picture of the photo.

“Send it to everyone?”

“Yeah,” he agreed. Stiles sent it to everyone who would care and the response was instantaneous. Scott being the first to call and Stiles answered with a gruff laugh putting him on speakerphone.

“Dude!” Scott shouted excited. “You're pregnant, not just pregnant, pregnant with twins!”

“Yeah, twelve weeks, sorry for not telling you quicker.”

“Congratulations,” Isaac calls from the background. 

“Thanks, Isaac, but they're both healthy so we thought the time is now and we had to tell everyone.”

“I knew it was bound to happen sooner or later. Oh my god, I am so happy for you guys! I'm going to be an uncle, again,” he cried joyfully. Stiles bent his head laughing and Scott laughed with him.

“I better go, I bet I have Lydia desperately ringing me.”

“Okay, I'll be around soon!” Scott promised. 

The moment Stiles hung up was the moment a second call came through and Derek shook his head with a smile leading Stiles to the car. 

“Twelve weeks? You kept this a secret and lied to me about coming shopping.”

“I smell pregnant, I didn't want anyone to find out,” Stiles answered softly. He got in the car and buckled up. Derek turned on the engine and listened to Stiles talk to Lydia about the pregnancy and the twins. He drove them home and Stiles was making his way through the amount of calls coming in from Danny, Lydia, John Stilinski, and even Laura made her call screaming about the twins. 

“My dad was over the moon, shocked and a little nonplussed. But I think he's happy about having more grandchildren. Got a feeling he's lonely though. I think we should go down and see him soon. Before I can't fly.”

“We can do that,” Derek agreed gently. Stiles smiled softly at him and reached over squeezing his hand. 

“Lunch? My stomach won't stop rumbling and I feel a little sick.”

“I can do that too,” he smirked. Derek took him out for lunch ordering him a burger and fries at his insistence and surprise when he gave into him. 

“It's not going to hurt you or the pups. Though it's important to eat fruits and vegetables,” he said pointedly pushing the tall glass of orange juice towards him. 

“I think we should go shopping this weekend, take Jamie the park, then go shopping for these two. I know we don't know the sex yet but we can look at neutral stuff. I have so many ideas for the nursery!” Stiles ranted excitedly, the fry he was holding twirling in his fingers. He was astoundingly beautiful when he got excited and hyper about a certain subject. Derek simply nodded and let him have his own way. His fingers traced over the scan photo and there was a small pang inside of him. His mother would have loved this. Her chance to have grandchildren stolen from under her feet. 

“Hey,” Stiles murmured, his hand touching his and jerking him out of unpleasant thoughts. “What's up?”

“Nothing, it's fine.”

“Liar, come on, what it is?”

“Just,” Derek began, shaking his head slowly. “Just thinking about my mother, her chance of getting to know her grandchildren stolen from her. She would have loved this.”

Stiles' mouth twisted and he pushed his plate aside to lean over and twine their fingers together. “I know the feeling. Very well actually. My mom too. But I like to think that there's something after death, not just a horrible black darkness to be trapped in forever. But somewhere for loved ones to look over us, they might not be here, but hell they're somewhere and they know.”

“You have a way of wording things,” Derek murmured, his thumb stroking over his knuckles.

“Call it a gift,” he winked. Derek leaned in stealing a chaste kiss before letting him go and pushing the plate back towards him. He did have a way with his words and Derek did feel a little better. 

It was later that afternoon that Laura turned up with bags of baby clothes she had bought. They stood together watching her unpack the clothes, vests, sleeping suits, little tops, pants, teddy bears, and all of them were in colors not dedicated to either sex. Yellows, browns, greens, reds. 

“I just had to,” she exclaimed. “I don't care but look at all this, plus they had a sale in baby stuff right now. Plus double the trouble means double the stuff. Oh my god, I have to throw you a baby shower,” she ranted, her feet pacing the floor. 

“Laura, this is too much,” he said, ducking down to pick up a soft teddy from the hug me range. It was soft under his touch and he met her eyes looking up. 

“These are my nieces and nephews. I want to do this.”

“Well, thanks, Laura, seriously, this is freaking awesome,” Stiles cried, his arms wrapping around her so she laughed and stroked his back gently. 

“I'm serious about that sale, get on in there,” she said gesturing her hand between the pair of them. “Oh, I didn't forget about Jamie. Look what I got!” 

Jamie, who was sitting on the couch on his iPad, his interest low for around him, but her perked up at the sound of presents. Derek turned his eyes on Stiles who held up a small newborn top with bold red letters saying 'MY DADDY LOVES ME'. 

“Adorable,” he mouthed to him, the top resting on his tiny bump. Derek smiled wide in agreement.

Laura had been right about the sale period for baby stuff and Stiles was on board on having a look at the weekend. Jamie's excitement for the park screeching when he woke up early and banged on their bedroom door demanding for the swings. 

“Swings, papa, swings! And ice creams, please,” Jamie asked, his eyes too big and too pleading looking up at him once they were dressed. It was his adorable act. The one he knew he was weak for. Derek scooped him up in response, his fingers tickling under his arm so he laughed and shrieked kicking his legs. 

“We'll see about the ice cream, you have to be a very good boy.”

“I will!” he cried, his cheeks flushed red, his eyes glowing a beautiful yellow. Derek flashed his eyes in response and nosed his cheek. 

“Well aren't you two cute?” Stiles called walking down the stairs. Derek looked up at him and eyed the top he was wearing. It was a little tight but did a great job at framing his bump so he looked pregnant. 

“I thought if we're baby shopping then I have to look the part,” he said, pulling on his jacket and shooting him a smug smile. Derek responded with a deep kiss and stroked his cheek with his thumb before letting him go. 

It was a warm day once they stepped out together and he buckled Jamie into his chair, his iPad in his hands securely before they set off. It was the park first to tire Jamie out before they went shopping.

“Push me, dada!” Jamie screeched running for the spare swing. His feet pounding the hot tarmac before he landed against the swing eagerly.

“You kids, you're tiring me out,” Stiles said, hefting him up and placing his kicking legs in the swing. “If it's not Mr Energy here, it's the peanuts waking me up at half five in the morning so I can vomit. It's a never ending madness.”

“Would you rather this or a boring mediocre life?” Derek questioned him amused. 

“I'd so take this, just without the morning sickness. Flash forward six months,” Stiles smirked. Jamie's eyes were bright and his delighted shouting echoed when Stiles pushed him back and forth. It was a perfect picture and Derek watched from the sidelines, a small smile on his lips watching them both. Eventually Jamie got restless and soon got out to run around, they took refuge on a free bench and watched with keen eyes. 

“Can we have this forever?” Stiles murmured. 

“I don't see why not.”

“I think we deserve to be happy,” he responded, his head tipped back to look at him. “Well happier than we already are.”

“We can have that,” he said, taking his hand and lifting his lips to kiss his palm gently. Stiles huffed amused. They watched silently from that and eventually Jamie tired out enough for them to leave and head into town. Jamie refused to walk and was instead balanced on Stiles' hip, his thumb in his mouth to suckle and watch disinterested. 

“Now see that is adorable,” Stiles said pointing out the dollhouse in the window. People bustled and walked around them as they window shopped together. “Expensive but hell this is New York...” 

Derek really hadn't thought about the sexes but the idea of a daughter had his heart fluttering. His hand pressed to his lower back leading him away.

“Stiles?” a voice carried out of the crowd and he felt Stiles stiffen under his palm. His eyes wide as he turned towards the crowd behind them and Derek frowned confused looking too. 

The stranger was reasonably attractive, wind swept chestnut hair, gray eyes lit in surprise and amazement, a goatee that covered his mouth and chin, a dimple in his left cheek and Derek instantly knew who this was. What was a punch to the stomach was seeing his resemblance in Jamie from him.

“It is you! Oh my god, it is you.”

“Matthew?” Stiles declared horrified. 

Matthew nodded blinking at the three of them. His eyes assessing and calculating as they swept over Derek and they tightened a little before moving. His eyes lingering on Stiles, Stiles' bump, before landing on Jamie staring at the stranger in front of him. His thumb popped out of his mouth and he waved at Matthew in greeting. Softness appeared and he smiled at Jamie who smiled wide in return. Jamie didn't care about strangers, he liked and smiled at everyone.

“I have been looking for you for so long, I didn't know where you would be or anything like that. But you've been here all along!” he exclaimed, stepping forward and Derek instantly bristled. “I need to explain, please let me explain.”

Stiles' horrified expression didn't fade and he glanced at Derek who met it in return and he could see the doubt, the confusion. His eyes strayed to Matthew stood not looking at them but at Jamie who had returned his thumb to his mouth. The look he had made him sick to his stomach again, it was one of fondness, a look someone had after looking for something for so long. 

“Give me twenty minutes, half an hour tops. I need to tell you my side of the story,” Matthew pleaded once again, his eyes sorrowful and manipulating to Stiles, and non trusting and smug towards him. This was a man who knew how to play a game and how to win it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now, first of all, Matthew is going to be based off a man in my own real life. The kind of arsehole to sweep in and not care about a family already formed together. The kind to demand rights to a child after leaving when they were hours old. That kind of bastard. So, you're not going to like him, and I am not going to write him as a likeable character. We have arseholes in this world and fictional world and he's one of them. He won't be an evil, murdering, psychopath, but an intervening arse you're going to want to murder. 
> 
> Second of all, thank you for reading, commenting, and sticking around. I don't answer to all comments but it doesn't mean I'm not reading them and getting encouragement. It's lovely to know you're liking this.


	15. Chapter 15

Stiles was in a nightmare. This awful, twisted, obscene, and nasty nightmare were the man who abandoned him eight months pregnant had appeared in front of him. Of all the people in the world to meet, he met him in the middle of town shopping. Matthew had changed, his hair longer, he had grown around the face and was a little skinnier. Stiles felt sick to his stomach watching him beg for time to tell his damn story but hell he was intrigued. He turned to Derek who looked beyond furious, his eyes tinged red glaring at Matthew.

“Take him, go to the corner ice cream shop.”

“What? Stiles, no, I'm not leaving you here...”

“That coffee shop there,” he said with a nod. “Twenty minutes. Trust me.”

Derek was furious. That anger had nowhere to direct and his eyes pleaded with him till he gave into him. His hand cupping the back of his neck to kiss him hard, his lips protesting a little till Derek let him go to to direct a venomous glare at Matthew before leaving with Jamie.

“I'm guessing that's your mate,” Matthew smirked.

“Twenty minutes and counting,” he retorted coldly walking away and into the coffee shop. He ordered a hot chocolate and took a seat facing him when Matthew took a seat opposite him. His hands folded together and a forlorn look graced his features.

“It's good to see you.”

“Cut the bullshit, tell me why you're shitty excuses of leaving me while I was eight months pregnant.”

“I was scared, Stiles.”

“What, and I wasn't?” he hissed at him. The coffee shop they were sitting in wasn't that full and he took a glance around before fixing his eyes back upon him. “You weren't scared...”

“Yes, I was!”

“No, no, you were scared when I told you I was pregnant. You could have left then, made it so much fucking easier. No, you lied to yourself, made out you could stick around and be a father. But you didn't. You weren't there for me. You drank yourself stupid and fucked your way through a whole load of people.”

“I was a stupid kid,” Matthew protested. “Stupid and scared and – and I was about to become a father. It ruins your life.”

“It didn't ruin mine! I gained a beautiful baby boy, my pup who has grown up into the loveliest, sweetest child I have ever known. Considerate, kind, loving, and I did that, not you, he is nothing like you and I am so glad,” he spat at him. Matthew's face closed down and he sat back breathing in and out deeply to control the anger. Their drinks were brought over and he directed a smile at the waitress before she left. 

“I was scared, Stiles, stupid and simple as it was. I was never looking for that kind of commitment, I thought I could do it, I thought I could step up and be a man my own family could be proud of. But I couldn't, I fucked up, and I left. I packed my shit in the middle of the night and I left. Told a few of my friends, swore them to secrecy.”

“Yeah, they wouldn't tell me anything. Apologized and closed the door in my freaking face. The apartment was your lease and you broke it! I had nowhere to go, I had to rely on Scott who was weeks away from traveling. I was so scared, so fucking scared, and I was all alone. I tried to find you but you were gone in the wind. I was so stressed, so angry, so frightened, that all of it triggered an early labor. You did that!” Stiles cried, his finger pointed into his face. “Don't you dare come to me with your sob stories. You're a piece of shit.” 

Matthew stared at him and nodded once. “He seems good now though, he looks like you, Stiles, seriously. Little mini me.”

“Yeah, none of you, thankfully.”

“What did you name him?”

“Jamie, he's James.”

“So not Lloyd?” he muttered with a small smirk. Stiles grimaced shaking his head and leaned back resting his hands on his bump. Matthew eyed it carefully. 

“That his?”

“My mates, yes, he's father to these two...and Jamie. Jamie accepted him as a father when he was eight months old. Something a complete stranger can do, but his biological father can't do. Tells you something doesn't it,” he said smugly, his hands wrapped around the hot chocolate to take a sip. 

“What about his birth certificate?” Matthew questioned slowly. 

“What about it?”

“Am I on it?”

“No,” Stiles answered shaking his head. “I left you out. You left, you didn't deserve that honor on a piece paper.”

“I'm still his father! Whether I left or not!” Matthew hissed, his hands clenched on the table top. 

“You're not his father! You revoked all rights to him the moment you left! I'm his father, Derek is his father, the one who cleaned his shitty diapers while you went...wherever you went.”

“Mexico. I went to stay with my aunt. I was...guilt ridden,” Matthew explained. “I felt guilty for leaving but I couldn't come back. I think a part of me felt it when he came into the world. But I ignored it, I carried on, I got a job, I dated, but always – always at the back of my mind I thought of you. Thought of Jamie. Wondered if you were okay. It took me nine months to finally get over myself and I came looking. I couldn't find you anywhere.”

“I was living with Derek. I'm glad you never found me,” Stiles murmured. 

“You know once upon a time, you wanted me as a mate.”

“You didn't want commitment, you wanted sex, preferably heat sex, and yeah I did. I thought I could have been in love. How wrong I was...” 

“I had feelings for you too! I was scared...”

“Yeah, a scared little boy, a scared little boy running from his problems. God, I can't listen to this anymore. Oh how wronged you were, a fucking mistake created something so beautiful and I am thankful only for that tiny little sperm you gave me. He's my baby, not yours, he has nothing to do with you. I've heard your excuses and I am done. Enjoy your life, Matthew,” he ranted, pushing back from the seat to stand. 

Matthew's expression was calm but his eyes blazing when they turned on him. “Does he know?”

“Who?”

“Jamie, does he know about me?”

Stiles let out a bark of laughter. “Why would he? He has dada and his papa, you're nothing but a stranger on the street!”

Stiles walked away, the bell above him clanking when he strode into the busy street. His wrist was seized and he yanked it back to see Matthew standing behind him equally mad as him.

“He deserves to know who his father is!”

“You're not his father!”

“Yes, I am, I created him alongside you! I was there in his creation and he deserves to know who his real daddy is. Not some stand in pretending to be his fucking father! There's a ton of them in this world and they're all fads and monsters for stealing children away from their real fathers!”

“You are unreal, you're a fucking joke,” Stiles shouted, shoving him hard away from him. Tears sprang in his eyes and he trembled with anger. People were looking around them and he knew they were watching this fallout. He stepped closer to him and stared into his red tinted eyes and whispered the words.

“You are not his father. I am his father, Derek is his father, you are nothing more than a sperm donor to him. An insignificant speck to help out. Now leave me and my family alone, if you know what's good for you.”

Stiles moved to go away but stopped when Matthew seized his wrist and his tugging did nothing but creak his bones. It was harsh and brutal when he yanked him towards him.

“I always did love that fire in you. Kind of hot,” Matthew whispered, eyes trailing down his face. “But we're not talking about us. We're talking about our son, if you don't tell him who his real father is then I'll take you to court. I'll drag this all out, maybe fight for custody, my rights, everything! You deny me my rights, I'll destroy everything you've created.”

Stiles was panting with fury by the time he let him go, his wrist aching and bruised.

“Hey,” a stranger shouted seeing it all and deciding now to intervene. 

“I'll see you around, Stiles,” Matthew called over his shoulder walking away. Stiles was shaking visibly and he brushed away a tear that strayed out of his eye.

“Are you okay, dear?” a woman asked him, her eyes straying to his bump and his reddening wrist. “Was that your alpha?”

“No, no it wasn't, I'm fine, thank you,” he reassured, pressing a hand to the nice lady's arm before hurrying away towards Derek. Derek was sitting with Jamie eating a bowl of ice cream between them and from the door he could see how tense he was. 

“Stiles?” Derek questioned him sharply when he walked up to them.

“Let's go, not here,” he said, taking Jamie into his arms and shushing his small complaints. “Come on.”

Derek was silent, his jaw tight and tense as they walked away together. Jamie sensing his distress and placed a comforting hand against his cheek. Stiles leaned in kissing it gently and rubbed his nose against his cheek to comfort him. Even beside him Stiles could feel the fury, the confusion, the anger, all rolled into a ball inside of Derek. They didn't speak though, not till Jamie was strapped in the car and he got in.

“I want you to tell me everything,” Derek said in a tight voice.

“Not here, not in front of Jamie.”

“Stiles...”

“Derek, please, just listen to me here,” Stiles snapped, meeting his eyes. “Not in front of our son.”

Derek nodded once, the tick in his jaw working overtime, his hands clenched the leather of the wheel so it creaked and Stiles bit his lip. His wrist aching but healing enough that Derek wouldn't notice. It was a tense ride home and Jamie whimpered in the back of the car feeling it.

“It's okay, baby,” he promised, looking over his shoulder at him. “Promise.”

“Dada, upset?” he whispered around his thumb.

“No, baby, I'm okay. We're home soon and you can watch cartoons in your bedroom, okay?”

“Okay.”

Stiles spun back around letting the smile drop from his face and stared at the trees passing by. Derek got them home in no time at all and he held onto Jamie till they got inside and he dropped him gently down.

“Kitchen,” he murmured, his eyes tracking Jamie going upstairs to get his iPad. Derek crowded into him the moment the kitchen door closed, his hands cupping his jaw to peer into his eyes. His body a warm pressure against his, a comforting presence and he closed his eyes drinking it all in. His own hands circled Derek's wrists and Derek grabbed the bruised one.

“What's this?” he whispered slowly.

“Rough handling.”

Derek snarled viciously, the sound creating goosebumps on his skin, and Stiles whimpered in response to his rage. Derek had shifted in the process and he reached for him to stroke his cheek and calm him down. His lips pressed against in a chaste kiss.

“He did this?” Derek demanded angrily.

“Yeah, but don't focus on that.”

“I'm going to kill him!” Derek shouted. 

“No, you're not, because in that process you'll be arrested for murder and I can't handle that!” Stiles argued with him. “Just listen to me, do you want to know the story or not?”

“Tell me everything,” Derek demanded, his face shifting back to human, his eyes bleeding back to their normal green. Stiles pulled out a chair and sat down rubbing a hand over his bump.

“Bullshit excuses, he was scared, he took off to Mexico. Stuff I already knew that coward was capable of. Wanted to know stuff about Jamie, his birth certificate, his entitlement to him. I told him he's not on the birth certificate, just me. I think that pissed him off.”

“Did you tell him his name?”

“Yes.”

“Why?” Derek demanded, his hand grabbing a mug and banging it down harshly on the side. 

“Because it's a name, he would have found out anyway.”

“You didn't have to tell him.”

“Derek, we have bigger things to worry about the Matthew knowing his fucking name,” Stiles cried, standing up to stand next to him and meet his eyes. “Derek, he's threatened me with court. He's pissed about Jamie not knowing about him, about you being his father, and he's threatened me with court, with his rights, with custody, if I don't tell Jamie the truth.” 

“He wouldn't dare,” Derek hissed. “He lost his rights the moment he left. He's unfit to care for Jamie! He wouldn't win.”

“Oh he would. He's a clever little bastard when he wants to be. He'll bullshit his way through court, lies, anything to make him seem like he's not an unfit parent and didn't abandon his child before he was born.” 

“I won't let him,” Derek said, turning towards him slowly. “He's our son! I'll adopt him.”

“Derek...”

“If that is what I have to do to make him back the fuck off then yeah I will. I shouldn't have left you alone with him!” Derek raged, his hands cupping his sore wrist. “He hurt you, he hurt my mate! I'm going to rip him apart, Stiles, I swear.”

Stiles swallowed seeing how worked up he was getting and pulled him into his arms clutching at him. He shushed him softly, his fingers combing through his hair, he grabbed Derek's hand pressing it against his bump.

“Calm down, okay? It's okay, well it's not, he's a fucking asshole. But I'm here and I'm okay, our babies are okay, Jamie is upstairs playing, you can hear him. I love you, just breathe,” Stiles reassured him in a soft voice. Derek's shaky breathing soon evened out and he wrapped his arms around his waist. Derek rubbed his cheek against his and began scenting him. His lips pressing so carefully to his healing wrist and down his arm.

“I love you, I love you so much, the idea of anyone touching you or hurting you,” Derek whispered, his eyes closed, his lips pressed against his throat. “It kills me, Stiles, like a bullet to the chest.” 

“I know, I love you too,” he murmured, his forehead resting against his. “More than anything. But we need to decide what we're going to do because we can't tell him. He won't understand, he's too young.”

“We won't tell him, we don't need to tell him. Let him try and take us to court, we have enough evidence, enough witnesses to drag him all the way down!” Derek muttered confidently. “Let him try and get his fucking rights.”

Stiles smiled at him and wrapped his arms around his neck in a tight hug. “God I love you.”

Derek didn't let him go, not until his arms were tired and he was all hugged out. He moved away soon enough to make a start on dinner and Derek refused to leave him for too long. He lingered around him, his fingers brushing against his skin every now and again. His eyes fixed on him like he was frightened he was going to disappear. Derek left halfway through and returned with a chattering Jamie cradled carefully in his arms. It didn't take a genius to work out this was a man scared of losing his family. His fears electrified with the return of the biological father. 

That wasn't going to happen though. Over Stiles' dead body was he about to let his family be split by an asshole. 

*

Stiles rubbed a hand over his lower back carefully and sighed proceeding to continue folding laundry. It was a warm day, Derek was out with meetings with Laura, Jamie in school, and he had taken a day off work feeling like hell. It had been two weeks since he had last seen Matthew making his threats and since then there was nothing. It was strange for him to suddenly appear and then disappear but Stiles was glad. The tensions of his arrival into their lives soon died down after the third day. Derek was able to relax, fix his alpha head on, and resume their lives without issue.

Stiles was folding Jamie's clothes when the doorbell rang and he sighed dropping it onto his pile. His neighbors were overjoyed he was pregnant, they enjoyed bringing around food, cookies, cakes, anything they liked. Most of the time it made him feel sick. Stiles tugged open the door with a fake smile that soon slipped.

“Now this is a nice neighborhood, a man walking his dog wished me a good morning and smiled at me. Did I fall into a television program?” Matthew smirked at him. “Hey.”

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Stiles hissed, poking his head out and looking side to side. 

“You weren't too hard to find, you do realize you're in the book, right? Stilinski – Hale, it's a kinda catchy, if not sounding a little like an estate agents for Poland.”

“Matthew!” he demanded. “What are you doing here?”

“Can I come in? Come on, Stiles, it's only polite.”

“If I let you in here, Derek will pitch the mother of fits and I'm not sure I'll be able to hold back a furious alpha ripping your fucking head off,” Stiles muttered, eying him carefully in contempt. “No, go to the backyard using the gate. I have too many nosy neighbors.”

“Fuck, this is like Desperate Housewives,” Matthew mumbled backing up. Stiles slammed the front door hard and closed his eyes bracing himself. Matthew was stood hands in pockets looking at their garden.

“You do all this?”

“Yes,” he answered, stepping outside and closing the back door behind him.

“You always did have a green thumb,” he remarked smugly. “So, did you tell him?”

“Hm, let me think, did I tell my three year old son that the man he knows as papa isn't biologically really his papa. No, no, I fucking didn't. It would traumatize him, confuse him, he wouldn't know what to think. So no, I didn't, take me to fucking court and I will make damn sure I drag your name through the mud. There are laws you know, about abandonment, neglect, not being there for the child!” Stiles ranted into his face. “God, you think you of all people would realize this.”

“Fine, maybe telling him would be a bad idea,” Matthew sighed deeply. “But I want to see him.”

“No.”

“Stiles,” Matthew began and stopped backing up when Stiles snarled at him, his shift happening as he charged at him. 

“You think me or Derek are going to let you even ten feet near him?”

“If you don't, I won't leave you alone,” Matthew threatened, a hint of a smile on his lips. “You know I'll do it, I'll do whatever it takes to see him. I'll call, pop around when you're hound dog is at work. Hell, if I have to watch you take him to school just so I know where he is...I'll do it.”

“I'll get the cops involved,” Stiles cried, his hands shaking because his argument was wavering. 

“Oh, okay, you do that and I'll tell them I'm a man who is just trying to see his son, make up for lost time,” Matthew said, shrugging his shoulders and smiling pleasantly. 

“They won't believe you when I get involved!”

“Do that, we'll see who wins, but I don't think you need the stress,” he said, eyes moving downward to focus on his bump. Stiles crossed his arms over it protectively and snarled backing away from him. 

“If you let me see him, just once, Stiles, then I'll leave you alone.”

“How can I trust that?”

“You can't, I just want to see him, just once.”

“I'll have to talk to Derek...”

Matthew rolled his eyes stepping forward and handing him a white card. Stiles eyed it and took it off him to see a business card.

“You're a business man?”

“My own business, that's my number to call me on. I'll expect a call soon whether lover boy likes it or not. He's not coming by the way, just you and me,” he grinned before it slipped and he walked out of the garden. Stiles exhaled shakily leaning back against the back door, the card crumpled in his hand. Stiles went back in and grabbed his phone sending a message to Derek to call him as soon as possible. 

“Fucking asshole,” he shouted to the echo of the kitchen. His foot kicked the cabinets and he leaned against them drumming his fingers. Ten minutes passed before his phone buzzed and he answered it.

“Matthew popped around for a visit,” he answered. 

“What?!” Derek demanded. “How the hell does he know where we live?”

“Apparently we're in the freaking book, I don't even know, look when are you getting home?”

“I'm like two hours away, have enough meeting in an hour, I can't miss this, Stiles. Look did he do anything?”

“No, he wanted to come in, I said no, we talked in the backyard.”

“Why didn't you send him away?”

“Because I was curious, Derek, he doesn't care about court but he does want to see him. Just me and him, no one else, well with Jamie.”

“No,” Derek replied coldly.

“Derek, he said he would leave us alone,” Stiles sighed, grabbing the clothes and folding them together. 

“You believe him? Stiles, you can't trust a word that man says.”

“No, I don't trust him, my trust went out of the window a long time ago, but if he is telling the truth then I'd rather take the easiest way out then the hardest. I don't need this stress, Derek, or are we forgetting that I'm pregnant here?”

“I can't – I can't have this conversation with you right now. It's ridiculous, we'll talk when we get home.”

“Derek -” his speech cut off by him hanging up the phone and Stiles tossed it aside. His hand braced over his eyes so he breathed in and out deeply. It was going to be a long day and he felt sick walking over to the couch. He favored a nap and settled down draping a comforter over him to shut out the world. 

It worked out pretty well, he got a good few hours before his phone buzzed with his alarm to pick up Jamie from preschool. His body ached and he grabbed his keys setting out. Jamie was a ball of excitement running towards him and throwing out his arms for him to catch him.

“How was your day, monkey?”

“It was good, dada!”

“Aw, that's great, come on,” he said, lifting him up and placing him in his seat in the car. Jamie chatted away about his day at school and playing with a boy called Malcolm who was his best friend now and they liked dinosaurs together. Stiles watched him fondly. His mind wouldn't stop whirring and his stomach churning waiting for Derek to come home though. His smile kept dimming and he wished time would fly by.

He was in the middle of making chicken tikka masala when the front door opened. Stiles kept his eyes focused on the task at hand, his hand stirring the chicken until arms circled his waist. They brushed against his bump and he arched his head back to expose his throat.

“I've missed you,” he whispered, his legs gentle and warm against his neck. “Sorry about before.”

“No, I know why you'd be pissed off. 

“Stiles, you're my mate, you're vulnerable, you're pregnant with my pups, and now he's threatening to take my other pup. I don't like this, at all,” Derek said in a low voice. “I don't want him anywhere near us.”

“I don't want the cops involved or the courts or anything! It's too stressful, if we let him see him, just once, we don't have tell him who he is...” Stiles argued, his eyes following Derek who growled shaking his head and beginning to pace. “Derek, see my side here.”

“I am and it's stupid. Once? Stiles, once is just enough to get access to him. Once will turn into twice and then a third time and then a fourth. Until he's seeing him all the time!”

“You think I'd let that happen?! He abandoned us!” Stiles shouted at him. His hand turning the stove off so it wouldn't boil over or burn. “I'm not welcoming him in with open arms here. I'm trying to take the easiest route.”

“The easiest route is the one that lets him into our lives!” 

“He's already in our lives!” Stiles argued. “He won't leave, not until he gets what he wants, he's always been like that.”

“Then we tell him no or I'll kill him.”

“The murder route? Haven't we already established that is a no go area and that I don't want you to go to prison for murdering him! Why can't you trust me?” Stiles pleaded, stepping into his personal space and cupping his cheeks. “Derek...”

“I won't let you do this.”

“So you don't trust me?”

“I trust you with everything I have but this is ridiculous! He'll take him from me.”

“Oh my god,” Stiles cried, stepping away from him and shaking his head. Derek's hand raised to touch him and he slapped them away. “After everything, everything we've been through together, all these years, all this time, you really think I'd let him steal Jamie from you? You're his father! You're the one who changed his diapers, fed him, changed, comforted him when he had nightmares, everything! The moment Matthew makes an appearance, you think 'oh hell no, he's going to take him and Stiles will let him like a big fucking idiot' god, fuck you!”

“Stop putting words into my mouth, I never meant it like that but see my fucking point here!” Derek yelled at him. Stiles snarled walking out of the kitchen and grabbed a confused Jamie from the living room to take upstairs. 

“Stiles!”

“Go away!” he cried over his shoulder and slammed the bedroom door behind him hard. Jamie whimpered in his arms when he sat down and he stared up at him.

“Dada,” he whispered. Stiles lay back and cuddled him close in his arms and pressed a kiss into his soft baby hair. 

“I'm just trying to do what's right, I think,” he mumbled, his hand stroking Jamie's back slowly. “Do something that doesn't involve drama and court dates and talking to cops about our personal lives. They always favor the alpha anyway. Poor pathetic omegas and their children.”

Jamie reached up patting his cheek gently. “There, there, dada.”

Stiles smirked closing his eyes and pressing a kiss to his cheek. He was ridiculously adorable sometimes and he held him close. 

“I love you, I'm not going to let anything bad happen to you. Not going to let mean men come into your life and screw things up. My perfect little boy,” he whispered, nuzzling his nose against his and grinning when he nuzzled back. “I love you.”

“I love you,” Jamie copied him with an added smile. 

Everything was going to slowly going to shit around him but at least he had Jamie. He'd always have him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know a little about the laws of neglect and abandonment. I know the law doesn't favour parents who do but this is a different world and the characters don't know what I know so if something doesn't seem right that's why. 
> 
> Oh he's an asshole! He's only going to get worse. Trust me.


	16. Chapter 16

To say the argument was solved between Stiles and Derek wouldn't exactly be true. They were true in the sense they had reconciled with one another after a couple of hours. Harsh words brushed aside for kisses and touches of forgiveness before they went to bed. You should never go to bed angry with one another. Stiles didn't sleep though, Derek's warm breath against his neck comforting, reassuring, his wolf was appeased by his alpha. But for Stiles his mind wouldn't stop whirring. His thoughts prickling his brain so he felt sick and pained thinking of Matthew and his words. Thinking of him barging into their lives with his demands and his right to be seen. Stiles glanced behind him and gently eased Derek's arms away from him to climb out of the bed. He wrapped his hoodie around him and headed downstairs needing fresh air. It was a warm night when he stepped into the garden and took a seat on the wooden chair. It was silent apart from the odd chirp of an insect and the soft breeze fluttering the leaves. Peaceful. Stiles rubbed a hand over his bump gently and stared ahead at nothing in particular. 

“Stiles?” 

Stiles turned expectantly to Derek who was wearing sweatpants and nothing more. He stepped outside casting an eye around the garden. 

“What are you doing out here?”

“I'm not possessed, don't worry,” he murmured. His mind drifting to Paranormal Activity and how stupid that film was. 

“Was worried when I woke up to a warm spot and no person beside it.”

“Couldn't sleep, my head is wrecked, I can't stop thinking. Nothing stops in this head of mine,” he muttered bitterly. 

Derek sighed softly dropping down in front of him and spreading his knees to kneel in between them. “Do you want warm milk?”

“No, no, not thirsty, just – just hold me,” he pleaded gently. Derek nodded standing and taking his hands to pull him up and take the seat. Stiles sat in his lap and closed his eyes leaning into him. Derek kissed his temple softly and somehow decided to rock him gently. Somehow he slipped off into a uneasy sleep that had him waking up disorientated to Derek carrying him back to bed. He let it happen and Derek manhandled him gently slipping under the covers. He succumbed to the darkness and let it flow over him without issue. It was hours away when he finally woke up, his eyes strained and hurting in the bright light of the morning. His stomach growled hungrily and he was pleased to find he had no morning sickness. 

Derek was missing from the bed and he could dimly hear the chatter from the television downstairs. The smell of cooking bacon hit him and he inhaled deeply shoving the blankets away. Derek was cooking at the stove when he finally made his way downstairs. Jamie was sat cross legged in front of the television, his thumb in his mouth as he suckled and concentrated.

“Why didn't you wake me?”

“You needed your sleep,” Derek greeted, pressing a kiss to his cheek. “You fell asleep in my arms last night. I didn't want to disturb you.”

Stiles hummed sniffing the bacon and made his way to the dining room table. “That smells so good! No morning sickness, I pray I don't throw this up.”

“Take the ginger candy afterward.”

Stiles hummed again lacing his fingers together and looking towards the living room. Derek soon finished up and came in with two plates of bacon and toast for them both.

“I still want to talk about what happened yesterday and how I am still opposed to the idea of you, my pregnant and vulnerable mate, taking our son to meet a man who abandoned him. The so called man who has emotionally manipulated you from now, bruised your wrist, and we have no idea what he is capable of.”

“I know,” he whispered dejectedly. 

“You know? Then you agree you don't go alone somewhere with him and you realize how stupid it is to even take him or hell go alone?” Derek pressed. 

Stiles sighed pressing his hands to his mouth and stared over at him for a long quiet minute before nodding. “Yes, okay, maybe – maybe it's a really stupid idea and I was just looking for the easiest and non stressful way out. I mean hell it's what I did in the beginning!”

“The beginning?”

“When I found out I was pregnant with Jamie, I knew I had two options. I could do it all alone, raise the baby on my own, do everything. Or I could let Matthew in and get the help I needed. I chose the option of letting him in even though I knew deep down he wasn't into this. I tricked myself into believing he did and it was utter bullshit. I shouldn't have been so surprised when he took off but I was. I guess the easiest route is better than stress. Stress isn’t healthy when you're pregnant.”

Derek's jaw twitched and he leaned in take his hands into his. They were warm and dry, reassuring in a way he wanted. 

“Well it's different now, because you have me, not him, and he can't just storm back into our lives to make demands. Demands he isn't entitled to. Jamie is our baby, not his, and he's not seeing him.”

“Okay.”

Derek smiled at him and leaned in cupping the back of his neck to kiss him. Stiles savored his lips against his and pulled back licking his lips. 

“We tell him no, we tell him if he continues to harass us, then we'll get the law involved and a restraining order in place.”

“I love you,” Stiles whispered, pushing back his seat to walk over and sit in his lap. “I'm sorry about yesterday, I know I was an angry, hormonal, and an upset shit.”

“We all have our moods. I know your point, Stiles, I know you want the easy road but it could lead to a difficult outcome. I don't want that, I want to keep you all safe, I want to know I'm not leaving you to your own defenses. As stubborn as you are,” he murmured, his nose rubbing against his cheek so he smiled faintly. He leaned into him and shut his eyes letting Derek hold him.

“I can hear their heartbeats so clearly,” Derek murmured in wonder. His hand a warm pressure against the bump, his eyes meeting his when he looked up. “It's an odd mix. Two very fast, very alive heartbeats.”

“I know, it's weird but reassuring. Like telling me they're there.”

“Oh they're there,” Derek murmured, leaning in and pressing a kiss to the top of the bump.

“You're a sap.”

“For you and my pups? I'm allowed to be. Now eat up, you need your breakfast.”

“Yes sir,” Stiles mumbled, saluting him and sliding out of his lap to take his seat. The toast and bacon is good and he watches from where he is drinking juice when Derek stands up.

“I'm taking some time off work. I've given Laura full control over the books and everything.”

“What, why?”

“Because you need me,” Derek answered simply. He brushed his hands and carried his plate away to the kitchen. “I'm not leaving you alone for Matthew to appear. I can't risk that, not like yesterday, so I'll stay off work till he's dealt with. I can take care of you.”

“I'm not an invalid! I can take care of myself and Matthew. Believe me!” he complained.

“I wasn't doubting that, Stiles, but for my own peace of mind...let this happen.”

“Fine,” Stiles grumbled. There was no point arguing Derek on something like this. He ate the rest of his breakfast and handed him his plate. 

“Okay, monkey, time to get dressed so we can go to school!” he called to him in a calming tone so he stood up and ran towards the stairs. It wasn't always easy getting him ready for school but on good days he was raring to go. Stiles dressed him and brushed a comb through his soft fluff of hair before letting him go and get his bag. 

“I'll drop him off, can you put a load of washing on for me?” he asked pulling on a jacket. It was still warm out and he could do without the summer sweats. “Split them! I told you how, remember? We don't want another incident of a blue sock being left with the whites. Again.”

“That was one time,” Derek grumbled. Stiles rolled his eyes but left him to it. He headed out putting Jamie into his seat and taking a careful look around. It was calm out, nothing sinister or out of the ordinary. Stiles buckled up and started the ignition to take them to Jamie's preschool. His eyes checking the mirrors to double check there was no same car following him. He felt overly paranoid. 

“Love you, be a very good boy,” he said, placing a kiss on his forehead and watching him run into the classroom. Stiles didn't linger and headed on home. 

The washing machine was on when he came in and he squatted down double checking they were all whites before finding him in their bedroom. Derek was lying in the middle, his eyes closed, his hands crossed over his chest, and a look of calm on his expression. Stiles was silent on his feet but knew Derek knew he was here already. He crawled the length of the bed and swung his leg over to sit in his lap. Derek's hand spreading on his hips and his eyes opened slowly to look at him. His hands pushing up his top to spread over the skin of his bump and he shivered with the sensation. It felt good to have his touch, his caress slow and gentle so he closed his eyes. 

“It's so warm, so firm,” Derek murmured sitting up. His nose brushed his and he smiled at him staring down. “Is it wrong that I really like it?”

“Like a kink?”

“Maybe,” Derek smirked. “There's something...appealing...beautiful...and tender about you carrying my babies. Warm and full of them, a nice little home till they're fully grown,” he whispered, his lips tracing his collarbone so he shuddered. His hips bucking and his cock swelling to his words and his touch. 

“Oh, fuck, I now understand the reason why we get so horny like this,” he murmured, his hands gripping the back of his hair to seize his mouth. Derek groaned against his parted lips, his hands gripping his ass cheeks so he fell against his chest panting.

“I need you inside of me, please,” Stiles whispered against his lips. Derek's moan of approval spurring him on so he pulled back to yank his top off. Derek kissed his neck, his teeth nipping the skin to suck his marks there. He nuzzled over his mark and Stiles shivered in response to the gentle touch. His whole body felt sensitive to his touch, his tongue against his nipples had him moaning at the ceiling. 

“Don't tease me, fuck me,” Stiles pleaded with him. “Derek, please.”

“So desperate for me, it's okay, I've got you,” Derek whispered, pulling back to remove his own shirt and throw it away. “You're beautiful, perfect for me...”

Stiles exhaled shakily, shaking his head in response to his gentle touches against his ribs, his bump, those fingers carefully plucking his belt to remove it. Derek shoved him gently down to lie on his back, his hands hooked into his jeans to drag them down with his underwear. His socks tugged off so he laughed staring up at him. There was something vulnerable and trusting to be with someone you loved and be completely naked. Derek's eyes traced over him hungrily, the red tint of them arousing him to the point of desperation. 

“Get naked,” Stiles ordered. “Too many clothes.”

Derek kissed him hard, his moans swallowed until he pulled back to kick off his jeans and underwear. Stiles trailed his hands through his hair, his tongue trailing against Derek's bottom lip before he bit it gently. 

“I want to ride you, feel you inside of me,” he whispered, his hands gripping his hair to shove him back. Derek moved willingly, his eyes blown and focused on him so his back hit the headboard. The feel of his skin pressed against his had him groaning for more. His cock full and hard between his legs where it rubbed against Derek's stomach. The lube was seized by Derek who flipped the cap and squeezed the gel out onto his fingers. 

“Lie down for me, want to finger you open,” Derek ordered, his hand pressing against his chest so he lay back down. His eyes cast on the ceiling, his teeth bit hard into his bottom lip when Derek fingers brushed against his core. The fingertips massaging the muscle before a first finger slid inside of him. 

“So warm and tight, god you're amazing,” Derek praised watching his finger breach him. It crooked brushing against the bundle of nerves deep within him. The second finger pushed inside of him, the stretch a burning mix of pleasure and pain. It was too much and too little when Derek fingered and stretched him open, his eyes fixed on his fingers disappearing inside of him. Stiles growled becoming forceful and pushy to shove up at him and get him back at the headboard. Derek growled back, his hands now gripping his hips. 

Stiles lined himself up, his hand wrapped around the length of his cock to sink down taking him in all into him. Derek swore clenching his eyes closed and Stiles panted adjusting to the length of him inside of him.

“You feel so good, oh my god,” Stiles murmured, his hands cupping the back of his neck to draw him into a kiss. He rolled his hips slowly gaining speed to rise and fall, his cock striking his prostrate with every thrust inside of him. His moans slipped through and he moaned eagerly wanting more, craving more contact. 

“Touch me,” he pleaded breathlessly. Derek wrapped a hand around him, his hand bringing him off with a few quick tugs before he climaxed. His release hitting Derek's hand and stomach so he shuddered in the aftermath. Stiles let Derek take control when he flipped him onto his back, his hands digging into his hips to thrust in him hard and fast. His insides painted with come once Derek too climaxed.

Stiles pouted letting him slip out of him and drop down at his side breathing heavily. 

“Now that was good,” he murmured, flicking his eyes over to Derek who smiled smugly at him. “One way to spend your day off. Fucking till everything hurts.” 

Derek smiled tugging him into his arms so they could lay together in post coital bliss. Stiles tucked his nose into his chest inhaling the smell of sweat, salt, and traces of soap. It was tantalizing and he rested his cheek happily. 

“I love you,” Stiles whispered.

“Love you too,” Derek replied, his lips warm and wet against his forehead. “Always will.”

Stiles relished in that and took peace in the fact nothing could ruin this moment. 

It only took one week for Matthew to come charging back into their lives. Stiles didn't want to feel surprised when he eventually shown up on their doorstep. Jamie already in preschool, Derek in the kitchen, and Stiles in the living room with his feet up watching the television. He answered the front door with Derek close behind him.

“Well howdy do,” Matthew greeted with a smile. It soon dimmed when he noticed Derek standing behind him. “Is it just you two or is my son in there?”

“Our son, not yours, now get the fuck off my property,” Derek ordered. 

“You wish he was your son. Stiles, are you going to let me in? It's quite rude to refuse someone, oh look there's your neighbor,” Matthew said, waving at Mrs Long next door. Stiles cursed everything and mostly Matthew, he looked back at Derek who clenched his jaw and nodded once. He opened the front door wider and let him step into their home. His eyes looking around thoughtfully before he stood in their living room. Stiles could see him looking at the pictures on the mantel piece. Pictures of Jamie from birth to now.

“He's so beautiful, I'm sorry I missed all of this.”

“I don't care, why are you here?” Stiles asked him sharply. Derek sticking close by but not speaking, his eyes assessed him instead. He kept a close eye on him and never let Stiles stray from his side. 

“You never responded to my demand.” 

“It's a demand you're not allowed to demand, Matthew, he's my son and I say no.”

“No, he said no, didn't you?” Matthew laughed looking at Derek. “He's my son!”

Derek snarled walking towards him until Stiles stopped it with a hand on his chest.

“We both said no, you cannot see him, Matthew, you lost all rights to him the moment you left me. You think you can just come on in here and demand to see him like you didn't abandon him for three years?” he spat. “Because he's all grown up, talking, walking, and you think it's time to see him. He doesn't give a shit about you and who you are because we're here. We're daddy and papa, you are no one, even if you did see him and we did tell him he wouldn't understand, he wouldn't care.”

“Then I'll take you both to court.”

“Try it,” Derek threatened, taking a step around him to put him in place and away from Matthew. “You won't get very far.”

“How does it feel raising a boy who isn't really yours? You can try and convince yourself that he's yours and you're both his father but I share the genetics. Not you,” Matthew said coldly, his eyes flashing red. 

“I love him like he is mine and that is all that matters, you son of a bitch,” Derek snarled at him. 

“You've got your own pups, leave mine alone.”

Derek laughed sharply stepping towards him. Stiles could sense the tension, sense the fight brewing between them. Two alphas capable of ripping each other apart and he knew Derek wouldn't hold back enough to not kill him. Stiles moved stepping in front of them both, Derek's intake of breath sharp when he moved to move him behind him.

“Matthew, our decision is final. No leeway, no nothing, you had your chance all those years ago and you gave it up. We're a family, you're not ruining this, you're not ruining anything. Leave me and my family alone or I'll get a restraining order against you for all of us. Now get out of my house,” Stiles ordered, his hand gesturing at Matthew to leave the house. Matthew's expression was one of fury, his eyes darting between them. 

“You bring this on yourself,” he whispered directly at him before leaving. Stiles inhaled sharply watching Derek walk with Matthew to open and slam the door closed behind him. The lock was clicked in place and he stood exhaling shakily. 

“Why do I feel like I let something very bad out of a tightly concealed box?” Stiles murmured. 

“He won't do anything, Stiles.”

“How do you know that? Matthew enjoys getting his own way. He always has done, always will do, and if he wants to see Jamie. He will.” 

“We won't let him.”

“For how long?” Stiles questioned feeling tired. He took a seat on the couch and closed his eyes. “Forever? He's not just going to slip off into the shadows. He's like – like a cockroach, flush him away, he'll crawl right back up! He won't stop.”

“Then we do what we said we'll do. We'll get a restraining order.”

“Yeah,” he murmured, his lower back aching when he rubbed at it and grimaced. “Just, I don't want trouble. This is such bullshit, I shouldn't be feeling like this when I am this pregnant. It's ridiculous.”

“We'll get him away from us, I promise.”

Stiles let him wrap an arm around him and press a soft kiss to his temple. His words comforting to a sense but the clench his stomach told him differently.

*

Following him was easy. Too easy. To stay in the shadows and the background and watch his day to day life. The same routine each day when he watched Stiles emerge from the house, the bump a little bigger, his hand wrapped tight around Jamie's hand. His heart ached at the sight of him, so small, so childlike, so like Stiles in looks and personality. His one biggest regret stared at him every day when he realized how much he had missed. How much he had abandoned because of fear. Took off and left Stiles to take care of a newborn and then three years later find him pregnant and mated. His mate stealing Jamie from under his feet and throwing him aside like trash. 

Matthew's hands tightened on the wheel watching Stiles drop Jamie off with a kiss on top of his head. Jamie running off towards the school with an excitement only a child could have. He never followed close behind, always had a car behind whenever he tracked them. Tracked them at the end of the day when not Stiles but Derek picked him up from school. 

The fury biting into him watching Derek scoop him up and kiss his cheek in hello. Jamie's love and adoration showing clearly on his face as he babbled to him. His own son stolen from him from a stranger, an unknown, someone who swept in when he couldn't. 

Which is why he planned to take him and meet him himself. It was too easy to forge a note from Stiles, sign it that he was picking Jamie up to take him to a doctor's appointment. Forge the signature and turn up one cloudy day outside the school. Pass off as his uncle and take him for a day trip. 

“I'm here for Jamie Stilinski, I'm his uncle,” he said to the teacher, his note handed to her as she looked over it and at him. “Stiles is at work and Derek is away at the moment. I said I'd pick him up, help out, you know how it is.”

It worked better than he imagined when she collected Jamie. Jamie stared at him confused but accepted his hand when he handed it out to him.

“You ready for the doctor's?” he said in a loud voice just for the teacher. His hand tight around Jamie's when he led him out the doors towards the car.

“Where's dada?” Jamie asked confused. Matthew knelt in front of him doing up his coat. 

“He's at work. I'm Uncle Matthew, Jamie, I know you don't understand, that's okay. It's going to be okay, do you like ice cream?”

“Yeah, chocolate.”

“Chocolate? Me too!” he muttered in an excited tone. It gained a smile from Jamie who took his hand when he offered it. His palm clenched tight around his when he led him into the car and strapped him in. 

“It's going to be just fine,” he murmured, getting into the car and starting her up. “He's to blame for this anyway.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure that's how to take a child out of school but for this, it is, so there's that. Plus he's a little shit and he's basically kidnapping a child.
> 
> So it seems you need an ID and confirmation from parents before said child can be picked up. Thanks to the people who noted and told me. I'll add that to the next chapter and have the teacher be incompetent.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for everyone who commented on the last chapter. Quite shocking what some schools and teachers do and allow. I know here in the UK, with the schools I know, they let the children pick out the parent and then let them go to said parent. Horrifying. 
> 
> Anyway, early update, like I had nothing to do all day so I just typed this all out...

Jamie's mouth was covered in chocolate, his hands sticky with sauce and sprinkles when he ate it and stared at him. His eyes wide, so like Stiles, it was disconcerting to look at him and not see the man he once cared for. Or did care for him still. Feelings fade overtime but crashing back into his life stirred up something foreign and lost. Not that anything could be done now, not with him mated and pregnant. The babies loud in his ears whenever he was around him, a mocking tone of heartbeats.

“Do you love your papa?” he said, wiping his mouth. Jamie flinched away from him once he was done wiping the stickiness away.

“Yeah, where is he?”

“He's not here right now.”

“I want my dada,” Jamie pouted. “I want dada.”

“You can see him later, we're having fun right now,” he said, shaking his head at him. “I've wanted to see you for so long. Wanted to get to know you, see that funny little face. I'm so sorry I left you, Jamie, sorry that I abandoned you and daddy behind when I should have stayed. Fear, this silly little thing we feel, it took me, overwhelmed me, and I ran away from my responsibilities. Ran away from you. But now I don't want to do that, I want to see you, look after you.”

Jamie stared at him confused, his brown wrinkled, his mouth pouted out as he stared. 

“Do you want more ice cream?”

“No.”

“What do you want to do?”

“I want dada and papa. I want to go home!” he cried, his fists slamming on the table.

“Hey,” he snapped with him so Jamie flinched back, his back hitting the back of the seat. His bottom lip wobbled and he sighed deeply bowing his head. This was harder than he imagined. Jamie whimpered bowing his head, the tears overflowing.

“Don't cry, do not cry,” he hissed at him. “You're not a blubbering baby, are you? You're a big boy! Big boys do not cry, come on.”

Matthew grabbed his hand tugging him around the table to walk out. He whimpered behind him, his tears flowing and his cries growing as he yanked him towards the car. 

“I want my dada! I don't want you,” Jamie shouted at him, his feet kicking at him so he grunted in pain. He stooped down to his level meeting his eye contract and gripped his little arms tight shaking him once.

“No, do not kick, do not shout at me! Don't be naughty, Jamie,” he warned him. “Now get in the car, we're going on an adventure for a bit and then, if you're good, you can see dada.”

“O-Okay,” Jamie whispered, his eyes reflecting fear and nothing else at him. Matthew smoothed a hand across his hair before turning to the car and getting him inside. 

“We're going to be okay, Jamie, you'll see.”

*  
Stiles felt itchy under his skin. The prickle in the back of his mind told him something was wrong, something was off, it wouldn't leave him whatever he did. No amount of sitting around and waiting was doing anything to ebb away the feeling something had gone wrong. Derek shot him concerned glances every now and again till it reached a breaking point and he dropped down to sit next to him.

“What is it?”

“I don't know,” he answered slowly. “Something feels off, wrong, like an itch in the back of my mind telling me something is wrong. Don't you have one?”

“No, it's not...” he said, gesturing at the bump. Stiles took his hand and shook his head in reassurance. The babies were fine, their heartbeats full of vigor and life, at odd moments he could swear he felt movement. Little nudges of the babies moving their limbs at the same time. Stiles was closing in on sixteen weeks now. 

“Our pups are fine, it's something else, something...something,” he muttered, trailing off to shake his head and stand rubbing a hand through his hair.

“Try and not stress too much.”

“I'm not stressing at all but something is not right. My gut instinct is telling me something has gone wrong, something is...not...right. Jamie, we need to go get him.”

“What?” Derek demanded confused. “Stiles, we can't just take him out of school...”

“Derek, my gut is telling me something is wrong, and I want to go pick him up now.”

“Fine, let me get my coat, we'll go get him,” Derek relented. Stiles anxiously waited in the car for Derek to come out and slide into the passenger seat. His fingers drummed on his leg and they stilled when Derek grabbed his hand. It was the reassuring press he needed when he linked their hands together. 

“It's going to be okay,” Derek murmured. “Promise.”

Stiles nodded slowly and turned his head to look at their surroundings. It didn't take too long to arrive at the school and he unbuckled getting quickly out. He wanted Jamie in his arms, his little arms wrapped around his neck when he babbled about school. Derek opened the door and took his hand, his thumb rubbing soothingly across his knuckles. 

Stiles knocked on Miss Hannah's door and waited as she came to the door looking confused. 

“Mr Stilinski?”

“Hey, I've come to collect Jamie early, it's important.”

“But, his uncle picked him up, about an hour ago,” she replied confused, her hand tightening on the door and her complexion paling. Stiles stilled staring at her and felt Derek shift behind him to step forward and clear his throat.

“Excuse me, did you say his uncle came and picked him up?”

“I have the note here and everything,” she said, hurrying aside to hand them the note. Stiles snatched it staring at the writing that was not his own but familiar to him in a way that he knew who the 'uncle' was.

“You let a strange man, a man you had never met before...come in with a fucking note and take my baby?!” Stiles shouted at her. The children in the room waiting and watching gasped and some whimpered. Derek calmly dragged him out of the room. Derek's eyes were flaming red but his focus on him as he calmed him down enough to not rip her apart. Miss Hannah stood in the hall with them, the door closed and the assistant watching the children.

“He had a convincing story, he even had a likeness to him. I am so, so, sorry,” she pleaded, hands trembling and pressed together.

“You let him take my son! Without consulting me, isn't there – there protocols for this? Don't you need my permission or my mates or someone with authority over him! Because of you, my baby has now been taken! You stupid woman!” he yelled at her. Derek's hands were on his shoulders holding him back as she burst into tears and they heard commotion behind them. The head of the school appearing and demanding to know what had happened. Stiles couldn't breathe, couldn't focus on Derek explaining the situation to the head of the school. Jamie was missing. His baby was with Matthew, god knows where, and he couldn't breathe properly. 

“Stiles, look at me, focus on me,” Derek instructed, his hands framing his face so he stared into his eyes and copied his breathing technique. It was slow and steady and he could dimly hear Miss Hannah sobbing in the background. Mentions of the police being called were halted when he walked away from them taking out his phone. 

“Stiles, wait,” Derek called chasing after him. Stiles ignored him bringing the phone to his ear listening to the ringing tone. It went to voice mail and he swallowed shoving open the doors to walk outside. 

“You son of a fucking bitch. You took him? Couldn't have your own way so you stole him from his school?! Bring him back, bring him back right now or I'll make sure you're arrested for kidnapping a minor,” he snarled into the phone. Stiles ended it and exhaled shakily staring up at the sky. Derek took his face into his hands and Stiles could see him fighting for his control. His eyes a constant bleeding red that he focused on and gripped his wrists. 

“What if he hurts him?”

“Don't think like that,” Derek whispered. “We'll get him back, I promise, I promise you, Stiles.”

“I knew something would happen. I knew it!” he hissed, his eyes squeezing closed. “Oh god, that asshole. He took my baby!”

“We'll call the police, get people out there searching. We'll look too, get Scott, Laura, Lydia, anyone we can to get looking for him and we will find him. We will,” Derek reassured him, his arms wrapped tightly around him. Stiles clung squeezing his eyes shut and hating Matthew more than he ever thought. His phone calls to him went unanswered, his answerphone abused again and again by Stiles and Derek. They drove home away from the school and Derek called the police. Reporting a missing child. Stiles couldn't hold back his nausea too long and ran to the kitchen sink to vomit. His stomach aching along with his throat and he shook trembling. Derek came up close behind rubbing his back and keeping him close to his body. He placed a hand against his bump and turned to face him.

“I don't know Matthew enough now to not know deep down if he would hurt him...or take him forever. I don't want to be that person on the news begging to have their child back, I can't, I can't,” he whispered, shaking his head and clutching at his shirt so he shushed him with a devastated look on his face. “I want him back, I want him here.” 

Derek pressed kisses to his temple and hugged him tighter. Like he wanted to hide him from the world, keep him safe, protected, never straying from his side. The doorbell rang too soon and Derek pulled away, his knuckles skimming his cheek to let the officers in. Stiles let Derek take control, explain the situation, his hand tight into his.

“Matthew is his biological father, he took off when I was eight months pregnant. He came back into our lives about a month ago now. I denied him visiting him, he doesn't have any rights to him. He gave them up so he got pissed...and he took him. Kidnapped him for his own gain,” Stiles explained to the two officers waiting and watching. “I want him found and my son safe.”

“We'll do everything we can, sir,” the officer said kindly. Sympathy in his eyes and Stiles couldn't stomach it. Scott and Isaac soon turned up banging on the door once the officers left.

“He fucking took him?!” Scott snarled furiously. “I will kill him. Murder him!”

“Are they looking for him?” Isaac questioned, a hand on Scott's back, his gaze directed at Derek who nodded slowly. 

“We need to be out there, looking in the parks, anywhere he'd take a small child who gets bored easily,” Stiles muttered, pulling away from Derek who walked after him. “Don't try and argue with me, Derek, because I'm in the mood to tear heads from bodies.”

“I wasn't going to argue with you, I was joining you.”

Stiles turned his head to look at him appreciatively. He pressed a chaste kiss to his lips and with Scott and Isaac with them they set off outside. They split up to look for them. Laura called while Derek was driving them to parks.

“I'm out looking even before I called you, that awful son of a whore!” she raged down the road. “No one takes my nephew, no one!”

“Thanks, Laura, seriously, the more people look, the happier I feel that we can find him.”

“We'll find him and I am going to rip his balls off. Then feed them to him,” she snarled down the phone before hanging up. Stiles' mouth twitched and he sat back closing his eyes. The parks had nothing in them, no sign of Jamie or Matthew, it was maddening. His eyes scanned the children not in school right now playing and running around joyfully. His heart ached for Jamie and he scowled turning his back to walk towards the car.

Lydia called him not soon after. 

“What's been done to find him?”

“The police are out looking for him, we're out looking for them, so is Laura, Scott and Isaac, all searching for the asshole. I keep trying his cell but nothing. Fucking nothing from him, messages ignored. I tried his GPS, nothing, zilch, he has my baby, my baby doesn't even know him but he's trusting with anyone he meets. It's ridiculous.”

“You'll find him, I know you will.”

“I really fucking hope so because right now I am fully capable of murder,” he murmured, his eyes meeting Derek's. Derek nodded once and faced forward driving quicker. “He stepped over a line, we don't heal from all our wounds, some are fatal. I'm going to lay a fatal one on him.”

“I'll join you,” she said softly. 

The search was fruitless in the end, no parks had him, no ice cream parlors had him, he was dust in the wind. Stiles sat with his eyes closed in the car, Derek's hand warm and tight around his, his breathing deep in and out before it shuddered. Tears brimmed and one slid down his cheek slowly.

“Stiles...”

“I'm fine.”

“No, no, you're not, and neither am I. Don't lie to me,” Derek said gently. 

“I feel like it's my fault -”

“No,” Derek snapped. “It's not your fault. Don't you dare blame yourself.”

“I know, I know, Derek, it's just...I should have realized he'd do something like this.”

“It's his fault, all his, and that teachers. She should have not let him go,” Derek growled, his jaw tightening in his anger and defiance. Stiles squeezed his hand and Derek drove them back home. He hated entering it knowing Jamie wasn't there, his hands twitched and he felt on edge while Derek spoke on the phone with the police. 

He ended up in Jamie's bedroom and buried his face into his pillow. His scent was soft, sweet, his shampoo there, it had him sighing softly. 

“Stiles,” Derek said gently from the doorway. 

“I know, it's stupid, I just wanted to sit here for a while.”

“It's okay, do you want, you should eat. For these two,” he said, his hand on the bump. Stiles looked down and sighed softly nodding. 

“Got to take care of all my babies,” he mumbled. Derek kissed his forehead, his hand stroking the back of his hair gently. Stiles eyed him carefully, he could see the restraint, the holding back of his feelings, his fear, his doubts, his concerns. Like a brimming cup and Derek was walking the tightrope desperate to not spill a drop of it. Derek's self control was in and he was desperate to protect him, desperate to not show any sign of weakness. Desperate not to let himself go and break down. 

“What about you, how are you?”

“I'm okay, I'm trying my best not to...wolf out so to speak and hunt him down. I need to be here for you, you and our babies, I can't lose myself. I need to be your support.”

“You can't bottle it all up, it's not healthy,” Stiles protested weakly. 

“Neither is letting you suffer like this. Now I'm going to make you a sandwich and then we'll go out again. We'll keep on looking, we won't stop.”

Stiles inhaled deeply staring down at his hands. Derek returned sooner than expected with a sandwich and a glass of apple juice.

“Please try and eat it,” Derek begged. Stiles obliged him and ate it in mouthfuls so he wasn't feeling as queasy anymore. The doorbell rang halfway through and he stopped looking at Derek who hurried away from him. Stiles tossed it aside to practically hobble down the stairs to see Scott and Isaac.

“Anything?”

“No, I asked a few people on the streets, shown them pictures of Jamie but no one has seen him. It's getting dark,” Scott answered grimly, his head nodding towards the window and the darkening sky. Stiles stared out at it and sat slowly down exhaling shakily. 

“What are we going to do? I can't – I can't breathe, I feel like I'm going to burst out of my fucking skin,” he shouted, his hands gripping into his hair. 

“Stiles, you need to calm down.”

“Don't tell me to fucking calm down,” Stiles shouted at Derek. “It's been hours, fucking hours and not one sighting of them. No phone call, no nothing, I am sick of waiting around for him. This is fucking insane! My dad is a Sheriff, I grew up around this bullshit, you'd think I'd have learned a few tricks but no, no, I am stuck worrying about my three year old being with a complete stranger. I can feel something is wrong, I can feel him calling for me, and I...”

He trailed off with a shaky gasp, his hands shaking because he felt faint and strange. Derek immediately crowded into his personal space, his hands cupping his face to peer into his eyes. 

“Lie down, come on,” he ordered.

“No, I can't,” he protested weakly. Derek ignored him to lie him down and press a hand to his forehead. 

“I'm worried, I know you are too, we all are. But you need to calm down, not just for you, but for these two. These two need you as well,” Derek murmured, his thumb trailing down his nose softly so he shuddered. “Just try and get some rest. We'll find him, okay?”

Stiles swallowed but listened to him. Derek draped a blanket over him and kissed his forehead standing to talk to Scott and Isaac. They moved away but he could still hear them talking.

“I'm worried about him, and the babies,” Derek whispered. 

“He'll be okay, Stiles is stronger than all of us. We need to find them, there's got to be someone, anyone who knows where he's living, where he could have gone, people don't just disappear.”

“The police are no fucking help,” Isaac mumbled bitterly. 

“Well what if we wait for him to appear?” Scott murmured. “Don't look at me like that, Matthew has taken him, he has no experience at all with kids, he's taken a toddler who doesn't know him. His routine damaged, his daddy and papa missing, and he's going to be missing you. He's probably having a screaming fit as we speak. Matthew will be handing him right back.”

“We have no guarantee of that at all.”

“Then what do we do?” Scott demanded in a hushed voice. 

Derek's silence hurt him and he buried his face into the couch willing himself not to cry. Crying was a sign of weakness he didn't want to endure at the moment. Instead he kept his eyes closed and drifted in and out of consciousness. His whole body ached by the time he came around and Scott was sat by his side.

“Hey,” he whispered.

“Where's Derek?”

“On the phone in the hall, he's talking with Laura. Same as us, no sign, but the police have frozen his passport. His face has been on the news as well as Jamie's. They're looking for him, don't worry.”

“I have to worry, that's my little boy,” he murmured, pushing the blanket away to swing his legs over the side. “Where's my phone?” 

“Here,” Isaac said, handing it over to him. Stiles took it gratefully and stood stretched out his limbs. He moved pressing the call button for Matthew and walked away listening to it ring and ring before finally something changed.

“You don't stop, do you?” Matthew answered.

“Matthew,” he breathed. “Where are you?”

“Driving, can't you tell? Busy night, it's a Friday.”

“Where is my son?” he demanded, spinning to face Scott and Isaac on their feet staring at him. “Jamie, where is he?”

“Here with me, we're on speakerphone. Jamie, say hello to daddy.”

“Dada, dada, I want to come home!” Jamie pleaded. Stiles whimpered his hand pressing to his mouth hard to press it down. Derek appeared at his side, his eyebrows drawn together in concern so he drew the phone away to put it on speakerphone. 

“I'm here, monkey, I'm here. Do what he says and bring him home,” Stiles ordered shakily. 

“We had a nice day out. I took him for ice cream, the park, we went for a walk, and now we're driving around and I'm wondering whether to take him to Canada.”

“You need a passport for that and yours is frozen. The cops are looking for you, you absolute son of a bitch, you're most wanted for kidnapping my baby!” Stiles cried. 

“Our baby, don't deny him from me...”

“Dada!” Jamie screeched in the background. Stiles closed his eyes, the tears brimming hearing his little voice pleading for him.

“I'm here, baby.”

“That, that is all I've heard all afternoon. Pleading for you, for him,” Matthew snarled. 

“Well I am his father,” Derek directed to the phone.

“Oh am I on speakerphone?” Matthew laughed. “How fun.”

“Papa, dada, I want my papa!” Jamie screamed at him. 

“You be quiet!” Matthew shouted and he exhaled shakily, his nerves on edge. Derek snarled, his claws appearing, his eyes shifting to their dangerous red.

“Don't you talk to him like that! He's a little boy,” Stiles yelled, tugging the phone away to pace. “Just – just bring him home, Matthew, don't make this any worse for yourself. Please do this, do this for him, for me, for anything. He doesn't deserve this.”

“You brought this to yourself,” Matthew said coldly. “You denied me my own fucking right to see him, it's all I wanted. I wanted that chance to redeem myself and you took that from me. Shoved the door in my face so I took it into my own hands and I thought fuck it. Fuck everything, he's my son too, why should I stand in the background?”

“Then maybe you shouldn't have left me and drove me into early labor,” Stiles replied equally cold. Derek shot him a look, something he hadn't told him. “Bring him home! You've practically kidnapped him, they'll hunt you down. I will hunt you down!”

“Oh I bet you will. Always were a feisty one, is he still a feisty one in the sack, Derek?” Matthew cried. Jamie was crying in the background, soft broken sobs for his papa and dada. Stiles blinked feeling the tears slide down his cheeks. 

“You shut up if you know what's good for you,” Derek spoke harshly. “Now bring back my son before I find you and I rip you apart limb from limb.”

“Oh, such harsh fucking words,” Matthew laughed cruelly. “Is that the man bringing up our son, Stiles? Your choices were always shit. You once wanted me as much as you wanted him. How does it feel, Derek? Knowing how much he wanted me before he saw you. The rebound. How the last person he fucked was me? Or how I fucked him should I say.”

Stiles closed his eyes and bowed his head unable to comprehend this was happening right now. 

“None of that matters. We're mated, we're each others, you are nothing. I'll ask you a final time, bring him home,” Derek ordered, slowly, carefully, precisely, the words oozing threat.  
Stiles placed a hand on his back and stared down at his phone.

“If you want to be a father to him then do right by him now and take him home to his family. Listen to him, he's crying!” Stiles pleaded with him. 

“Why should I give into you when you never give into me? When I asked to see him and you turned me away! Oh how the tables have turned!” Matthew ranted, the car revving and raring along with him in the background. 

It felt hectic, chaotic, his head was buzzing with the activity. Matthew shouting, Jamie screaming with tears in the background, Derek snarling in his ear to Matthew's shouts and threats. Scott and Isaac stood nearby silent and he could smell the fury rolling off Scott listening into all of this. It was just too much. 

“Matthew, please!”

“Begging is not going to do much, why did you deny me my right? Why couldn't you have waited for me? Why did you take him away from me? This is all your fault, if you just – oh shit!” Matthew yelled towards the phone before cutting off. The sounds of a crash happening somewhere out there filled the phone instead. The sharp smash of glass, shrieking metal, and Stiles couldn't breathe. 

“Matthew,” Stiles whispered. Hands touched him, voices raised by Scott and Isaac who stared at the phone in his shaking hands. Silence. Nothing but cruel silence of a phone unanswered. The silence of a once screaming and crying Jamie.

“Jamie,” Stiles panted. Derek's hands gripped his arms, his hands, but he couldn't focus. Couldn't feel anything from the lump in his throat to the shaking in his hands. “Jamie...no, no, no, please, no...”

“Stiles,” Derek whispered, his hands clutching at his neck. Derek's eyes were blown with fear, the eyes wet with unshed tears. “Stiles, breathe!”

“Jamie, he's...Jamie, no, no, no,” he whispered, his eyes on the phone before he slumped forward. His panic rising with his fear, his breath sucking in tight and harshly so he screwed up his eyes and bellowed it instead. 

_“JAMIE!”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't hurt me. 
> 
> /ducks throwing of bricks and upset chants of readers.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate this chapter. It took forever to write.

Derek's worst nightmare had come true. 

There was not a lot of people who could say that. Not when their mate was in a hospital as well as their pup. They had all heard the crash, the shrieking metal, the glass shattering, the silence. The silence that triggered a panic attack out of Stiles so fierce he collapsed right in front of him. His skin pale, his breathing labored, unconsciousness won in the end. He didn't know what to do, his shaking hands clutched at Stiles. Scott and Isaac did most of the work, calling the ambulance, calling the police. Isaac's hands clutching his shoulders and shaking him gently.

“Come on, Derek, focus, I know you're in shock, but focus,” he shouted at him. Derek closed his eyes and swallowed past the tight lump in his throat. Oh it was never ending. His son's fate unknown, his mate passed out in his arms, his unborn babies in potential danger. Stiles didn't wake up and Derek held tight onto his hand when eventually they got into the ambulance. Time felt slow around him and he could barely hear what they were saying. They arrived at the hospital, Scott and Isaac following in the car, and Stiles was taken away from him. He was ordered to wait in the waiting room and he sat heavily, his head bowing forward to press into his hands. 

“Isaac is asking at the desk if a young boy has come in from a crash, if they were going to take them anywhere, it would be here. I told the police we'd be here,” Scott reassured him. “Do you need anything, need me to call anyone?”

“Laura,” he answered in a dry voice. Scott nodded slowly taking his phone from him. Who would have thought, Scott was taking care of him. Scott moved away to make the call and Derek closed his eyes and leaned his head back. 

“I don't know what to do,” he whispered. Isaac reappeared looking aghast when he took a seat opposite him and shook his head. 

“Nothing yet.”

“Oh god,” he moaned. “Do I hunt them down?”

“You wouldn't know where to look. Plus Stiles is here, I don't think you'd want to leave him. They'll be coming, soon enough.”

Derek glanced at him and away knowing deep down he was right. Despite every instinct telling him to get out there and find Jamie. The fact he didn't know what had happened to his pup left everything deep inside of him in tatters. Scott was done on the phone when he turned his head towards him and he sat down heavily.

“She's upset and she's on her way. I feel like I should call John, he'd want to know about Stiles and Jamie.”

“Do we want to upset him like that?” Isaac murmured.

“He'll be more upset if we don't tell him,” Scott replied tiredly. He moved away to stand to talk on the phone yet again. Derek cradled his head staring down at the shiny hospital floor feeling nauseated. He never felt nauseated, so this was new, unexpected, and strange. The hum of voices around him kept him distracted and focused enough to not go feral right here and now. There had to be a tipping point and he was ninety nine per cent sure he was getting there. Scott was speaking in hushed tones and was nodding along to whatever John Stilinski was telling him. He ended the call with a resigned sigh and came over to them to sit heavily down. 

“He's flying over, booking the ticket as we speak. He didn't listen to my refusals, simply said this was his grandchild and his son. He was coming here no matter what,” Scott explained to the pair of them. Derek nodded reaching up a hand to squeeze his shoulder and leaned back to stare ahead. 

It took Laura all of twenty minutes to come running into the hospital waiting room. Her hair as wild as her eyes which were wet and worried. Her arms flung around his neck and she let out a dry sob clinging to him. 

“Is there any news?”

“Nothing,” he answered slowly.

Laura drew back to cup his cheek and stare into his eyes. “How are you doing?”

“I'm not worried about me. I'm fine.”

“Bullshit,” she spat, her eyes trailing over him assessing. “I can see you're on the brink of a nervous breakdown, Derek. Fuck. If no one else will worry about you, I damn well will. What happened to Stiles again?”

“Collapsed, he was screaming, he was hysterical, we all heard the crash. He just fainted in front of me, I couldn't get him to wake up. No matter what I did. They just took him away. No doctors or nurses will tell me anything what's happened, I feel like I'm in a nightmare, Laura, and I can't wake up, I just -”

“Derek!” Scott shouted, gesturing at the chaos happening as a team of paramedics appeared pulling in a young boy on a gurney. Doctors and nurses surrounded it talking in medical nonsense he didn't understand. 

“Jamie, Jamie!” he yelled, pushing away. His hands seized the metal bars to stare down at Jamie lying unconscious, his hair matted with blood, cuts and bruises covered his delicate skin but he was alive. His heart pumping, little breaths leaving his mouth.

“Sir, we must ask you to move -”

“This is my son, is he going to be okay?!” Derek shouted back at her. The nurse blinked but reassured him with a hand pressed to his chest that the doctors were treating him and would do everything they can. Jamie was wheeled away and Laura held him back from running after them. Laura's hands kept him at bay and he turned his head watching a second be brought in. Regrettably, he was still alive. More badly bruised and beaten up but alive. At least he'd have the pleasure of strangling Matthew to death himself. 

“See, he's going to be okay, he's going to be okay,” she whispered into his shoulder, her hand stroking his arm carefully. Derek leaned into her and she kept hold of him till she had to drag him back to the chairs. 

“Now we wait, we wait for news on both of them. Let the good doctors and nurses do their work, little brother,” Laura muttered, dragging him down so he was seated and kept him there. Derek scowled but let her continue on consoling him and stroking his back with her hand. His gaze was focused on the floor or Isaac and Scott opposite him talking in hushed tones. 

In the end, it didn't take too for a doctor to appear with news about Stiles.

“Mr Hale?”

“Yes, that's me, is this about Stiles?” he said, standing to attention and in front of the startled man. He swallowed and nodded giving him a small but reassuring smile. 

“He's doing fine, little dehydrated, bump on the head from where he landed. But he's doing just fine, he's awake.”

“The babies?”

“Babies are doing fine, we had a little scare before when he started bleeding,” the doctor answered, walking him to where Stiles was currently staying. “But we managed to stop the bleed and any early labor from happening.”

“Fuck,” Derek breathed, his eyes shutting momentarily. That was all they would have needed. The premature birth of their twins. Derek was led to Stiles' room only and he stepped inside to see him propped up against pillows sipping water. His eyes brightened the moment he saw him and he hurried to his side to sit and look at him.

“You scared the shit out of me!” he hissed. Stiles smiled sadly putting the water aside and Derek reached for him pulling him into his arms. He breathed in his scent deeply, the sweet lull of it calming to him while he stroked the side of the swollen bump. It was reassuring to hear the babies heartbeats and he pulled back to look into his eyes.

“Jamie's here,” he whispered. “They brought him in and he's alive. Bruised and cut up but alive, Stiles.”

“What?! Move, I need to see him,” Stiles cried, struggling to move until Derek held him down and shook his head.

“They're working on him, I've asked but there's nothing they can tell me. We have to wait.”

Stiles' eyes were glassy with emotion, his bottom lip trembled a little, his hands clutching his arms before he gave in. The first tear sliding down his cheek was his breakdown and he let out a small wet sob clinging to him. Derek hugged him close to his body, their bodies squeezed onto the small bed as he rocked him. His own tears coating his throat listening to him whisper Jamie's name and dig his nails into his skin. The door opened and he looked up to see Laura stood with Scott and Isaac.

“Everything okay?” she mouthed.

“Yes,” he mouthed back and buried his nose and mouth into Stiles' hair. 

“I should have never let this happen,” Stiles whispered.

“It's not your fault, please, please don't blame yourself. It's his, all his fault, for Jamie being in the car, for him crashing the car, everything!”

“I should have protected him from this.”

“You did, this is all him, Stiles,” Derek reassured with a gentle caress down his cheek. Stiles sniffed deeply and shook his head to rest against his chest. They remained wrapped around one another, Stiles' tears drying to nothing, Derek never let him go. Kept tight hold of him while they waited for news on Jamie. Waiting was driving them both nuts when they were eventually pressured to wait in a private room. They needed the room back. Scott held onto Stiles' hand while they waited and Derek drank the bitter hospital coffee. 

“I feel like the worst father in the whole world. I let my son be taken and now he's wherever being fixed up after a crash. I nearly went into premature labor, the twins wouldn't have survived this early,” Stiles muttered, his head bowed to stare at the floor. 

“You're not a bad father, it's just shit luck,” Isaac replied, his arms crossing over his chest when he sat back and sighed. “It just never ends.”

“Well this waiting around is doing none of us any good,” Laura muttered, walking circles around the room. “You'd think they'd let us know what the hell is going on. Just ridiculous. You've got good insurance right?”

“Yeah,” Derek mumbled, his hands scrubbing down his face. “If not, I'll cover the costs.”

“Robbing bastards,” she sighed. 

Stiles mumbled something about the toilet and stood walking to the door when it opened revealing a stressed looking doctor. Everyone stood still in the room looking at him.

“The parents of James Stilinski?”

“Yeah, that's us,” Stiles said, his hand gripping his when he walked over and took his hand. “Is he okay?”

“He suffered only minor injuries, cuts, bruises, a head wound we are monitoring, and his left arm is fractured but he's healing. Slowly and surely, he's under a lot of medication to keep him under and out of pain but he's responding well,” the doctor explained. Derek wanted to collapse on the floor in relief. Stiles let out a small whimper, his hand clutching his so hard he'd felt it would break.

“Can we see him? Please,” Stiles pleaded.

“Of course, but, only the parents for now,” he said, nodding to the others. Derek glanced back at Laura who nodded once at him. The doctor led them to the children's ward where he was resting. They rounded the corner to see him so small, so fragile, his body bruised and battered but covered in tubes and wires. 

“Oh baby,” Stiles whispered shakily. His hand smoothed over his hair and he sat down taking a seat and broke down silently. His head bowed and the tears falling quick and fast. Derek leaned in brushing a kiss against Jamie's forehead and glanced at the heart monitor. It was good, he was going to be okay, and that was all that mattered. 

“What about the driver, the man in the car, his name is Matthew Summers. What about him?” he asked the doctor.

“Are you a relative?”

“No, more like he's the biological father of this one, and he kidnapped him,” Derek explained. “You won't find a relative, we wouldn't know to contact one before you even ask. I just want to know if he survived.”

The doctor glanced at Stiles now sat on the bed brushing a shaking hand through Jamie's hair, his face stained with tears. He inclined his head and they stepped away to talk. 

“Mr Summers is in a critical condition. It seems he took an extent of the injuries sustained in the crash. We're creatures of great healing, if we're stabbed, remove the blade and we heal. But some injuries we cannot come back from. It seems Mr Summers had broken his neck during the crash, in doing so it has severed his spinal cord. Something not so easily healed. In humans, once that happens, you're paralyzed. It's not so different with us,” the doctor explained, his hand gripping the clipboard he was holding tight.

“He's paralyzed?” Derek muttered softly in shock. 

“We won't know the extent of his injuries till he wakes up but it would seem to my perspective that Mr Summers may indeed by paralyzed from the neck down.”

“Wow, um,” Derek murmured, his eyes cast to the lino taking this in. “Thanks, doctor.”

Derek turned to see Stiles once the doctor left, he was sat again on his chair focused on Jamie. “Did you hear that?”

“What? No, I wasn't really concentrating, why, is it about Jamie?!” he exclaimed.

“No, no, he's fine, it's, um, it's Matthew, Stiles,” Derek spoke gently sitting down. “He broke his neck, his spinal cord is severed, some injuries we can't come back from. He's alive but he's also paralyzed.”

“Holy shit,” Stiles breathed leaning forward. “Like proper paralyzed, unable to move?”

“Yeah, looks like it.”

“Oh my god,” Stiles whispered. “Like karma getting her own back on him. I don't feel anything, I would have once upon a time but now? I feel like he deserves it. Does that make me sadistic?”

“No, Stiles, he took our son, stole him away from us, crashed the car, and now he's lying there covered in wires healing from injuries. He should be at home, asleep,” Derek murmured, his eyes flicking down to his watch. It was closing in on at one am in the morning. His tiredness not an issue. “What's done is done. He's now suffering in what he did.”

Stiles swallowed hard and looked at Jamie sleeping. It was going to be a long night ahead of them and he sat on the chair letting Stiles sit in his arms and lap. They took turns sleeping, one of them always watching Jamie in case he woke up. There were times when he woke up whimpering and Derek soothed him back to sleep. His touch settling the pup so he went back to sleep and Stiles remained sleeping in his arms. Derek stroked over the bump feeling the brimming life of his pups inside of Stiles. Warm, alive, there hearts beating fast, he loved them so much already. There sexes unknown to him, it could be two little boy or girls or one of each. He didn't know. 

Nurses popped in and out sending him small sad smile reading his chart, checking his vitals, and leaving without saying a word. Jamie slept on, his cuts slowly fading, his bruises healing back to the peachy soft skin he once had. His arm and head wound was healing to his relief and there was something so sure of a full recovery. Not that it could be said for Matthew, the police had stopped by once or twice. They wanted full statements but what could be done now with a broken man who couldn't move? He'd be in hospitalized care for the rest of his life. Someone wiping his ass and feeding him. It was going to be a hard life. 

It was around seven when Stiles finally jerked out of his sleep, his eyes wild before fixing on Jamie and relaxing. Derek leaned up pressing a kiss to his temple and smiling softly at him when he dared to look at him. 

“Anything happen when I was asleep?”

“No, he woke up only for a moment but I sent him back to sleep.”

“Good, I don't want him in any pain,” Stiles murmured lifting off him to stretch and rub his bump. “I want him sleeping till he's fully healed.”

Derek watched him lean in and brush his hair off his forehead, his fingers trailing over his cheek. He stood feeling his stomach rumble and frowned deeply. 

“Maybe you should go down to the canteen, get something to eat.”

“For both of us, don't give me that look, Stiles, we need food, you especially with our babies. Stay here and I'll get us sandwiches.”

“Fine,” he murmured, rolling his eyes and settling on the chair to watch Jamie. 

The canteen in the hospital wasn't the best but he got two sandwiches, bags of chips, and an apple each before heading back up there. Derek had no idea when Laura, Scott, and Isaac had left them to it but there was messages of reassurance from them also one off John. He would be at the hospital soon. 

“Your dad is on the way,” he said, handing him the food.

“Wait, seriously?”

“Yeah, booked a flight last night, he's on his way here as we speak. Told him to head to this ward.”

“Oh my god,” Stiles breathed stunned at this recent development. “I haven't seen my dad since Christmas. It's going to be so good to see him.”

Derek hummed in agreement taking a bite of the sandwich and sat on the bed watching Jamie's chest rise and fall with each breath. Stiles looked better, there was color in his cheeks, a calmness in his expression and shoulders that hadn't been there in the last twenty four hours. There one sure thing was that Jamie was going to be okay and that was all that mattered.

*

“I'm just glad you're okay,” his dad said, his hand rubbing his back gently. Stiles pulled back smiling at him and nodded his head. “God, you're getting big.”

“Yeah,” he laughed. His hands stroking over his bump. “Still got months to go yet. Don't even know the sexes.”

“You will soon,” he said, his eyes flicking over to Jamie who was now awake. He had awoken up half an hour ago slowly and surely smelling food. His pain not as severe as he imagined since he was near enough healed. Still had some way to go but he was sitting up and smiling at Derek feeding him chips. 

“How is he?”

“He's doing good, he's healing, getting back to his perfect self. Not that I can say the same about Matthew,” he muttered.

“What do you mean?”

“He's paralyzed,” he whispered. His dad blinked at him shocked and his hands found their way into his pockets. 

“Well shit.”

“Yeah,” he nodded. “Haven't seen him, don't think I can. What could I say to him? Threatening and shouting at him now would seem...cruel. Would it be cruel?”

“I don't know son.”

Stiles believed it would be cruel. No point poking a dead horse. He turned and watched his dad shake Derek's hand and take a seat.

“Granddad!” Jamie cried to him excitedly. 

“Hey, champ, how are you feeling?”

“Good, granddad, look I got a sticker!” he said, showing off his arm excitedly. Stiles smiled faintly taking a seat in Derek's lap and leaned back into his warmth. He kissed his jaw gently and he leaned into it feeling warm, safe, secure, a unit. This had brought them closer than ever before. Instead of fighting, screaming, and blaming each other they stuck together. Derek was a rock by his side, never faltering, always there, and Stiles didn't believe he could love him anymore if he tried. 

Stiles claimed his lips in a soft kiss and spoke the words through his eyes. Derek responded in kind, his hand massaging the back of his hair and neck gently. 

“Dada,” Jamie piped up.

“Yes, monkey?”

“When can we go home? I want to go home,” he pleaded.

“Soon, once the nice doctors give the all clear then we can go home. You can rest and play with all your toys.”

“My iPad.”

“Your iPad,” Stiles agreed.

“Dada, where's the man?” Jamie asked curiously. 

“He's poorly, Jamie, you won't be seeing him again. Not ever,” Stiles reassured, his eyes meeting his dad's.

“He was mean.”

“He was, but you don't have to see him ever again. He's gone for good.”

Jamie nodded turning back to his dad to show him more of his stickers. Derek rubbed a hand up and down his arm reassuringly. The doctor treating Jamie came along and checked him over before finally giving him the all clear. It was a relief to be able to take him home under strict orders for both of them to take it easy.

“You bled, you don't want those little ones coming out too early. No more stress, no more overreaching,” a nurse said to the both of them. “You're his mate, Mr Hale, you take care of him.”

It looked like he took those words to heart. His dad drove them back when they sat back and he kissed every inch of Jamie that he could. His baby was back in his arms, healthy, alive, he had the odd bruise still healing but he was alive. 

“I love you so, so, much, my best man, aren't you?” he whispered.

“Yeah,”Jamie whispered.

“I'm so sorry I let that mean man take you away from papa and me. It'll never happen again, ever, I promise you, monkey.”

“Mean men always get their comeuppances.”

“Because you're a Sheriff, granddad.”

“Yes, I am,” his dad smiled in the mirror. Stiles rolled his eyes amused and nuzzled Jamie's hair gently. It was good to finally arrive home, his eyes tracing down the house when they stepped out and he carried him back in. 

“Derek, will you set the spare room up for dad? You can stay here as long as you need.”

Stiles put Jamie down on the couch and covered him with a blanket. His iPad tucked into his hands so he could play happily. He made his way into the kitchen and rubbed a hand over his mouth up to his hair. Stiles got out the juice and made a big glass grabbing his phone off the side to see messages and texts from people. One of them being Lydia. 

“You left me out of this? You know how much I care about all of you.”

“I know but with everything happening...Lydia, it was mayhem, it was never ending.”

“I'm just glad you're all okay,” she sighed. “Twenty four hours after everything happened. Is he really paralyzed?”

“Yeah, from the neck down, no movement. I haven't seen him, I don't want to, I know I'd probably end up killing him. But at least Jamie is okay, he's healing as we speak, my dad is staying with us for a few days.”

“He deserves it.”

“Lydia.”

“He does, he hurt you, all of you, you've been put through hell with him since the beginning. I feel nothing but relief he won't be hurting you anymore.”

Stiles smiled faintly taking a seat. “So do I.”

“I'll be around tomorrow.”

“Okay, I'll get the wine in.”

“Good man,” she said sharply before hanging up on him. Stiles drank his orange juice and turned his head when Derek finally appeared looking worn out but had a happy edge. 

“Jamie?”

“On the couch with his iPad.”

“You should get some rest.”

“Right back at you, you look drained,” Stiles murmured, gripping his hands to stand up and brush his hand against his neck. “But before you go to sleep, I want to thank you.”

“Thank me?”

“For taking care of me, for not freaking out when I did, for being amazing. For making me realize how much I love you,” he murmured, pressing a small kiss to his lips. “I knew I made the right decision screwing your brains out.”

“Funny,” he whispered, his hands trailing down his chest towards his bump. “I wasn't about to let you down. We're in this together and I going to take care of you, Jamie, our babies, we're going to be okay. We're going to be family.”

“I can't ask for anything better.”


	19. Chapter 19

“Why are you going to see him? You don't have to go,” Stiles protested, hands on his hips watching him pull on his jacket. Derek eyed him carefully, he was getting bigger every day. Stiles was now eighteen weeks pregnant, their second scan coming up were they would hopefully get to know the sexes. He had yet to feel any kicking but Stiles swore blindly he could feel movement inside of him. Little nudges and pokes that Derek always seemed to miss. 

“You look gorgeous.”

“Flattery will get you everywhere but that is not the time,” Stiles said, poking him hard and stepping back. “Why are you doing this?”

“Closure, I need closure, I need to talk to him.”

“Derek, we've already dropped the charges...”

“I don't care, I need to do this, Stiles,” Derek explained softly, his hands cupping the sides of his neck to peer into his eyes. “You sure you don't want to come?”

“I don't want to see him as long as I live. He took my baby and hurt him, he can rot in his broken shell for all I care.”

“I'll be home for dinner, don't – don't overwork yourself, stay off your feet if you can. If you need me, at all, just call, okay?” he said, picking up his car keys.

“Okay,” Stiles sighed.

“I love you,” he whispered against his lips before kissing him. Stiles hummed clinging to him before letting him go with a smile.

“You too, I'll see you later.”

Derek left the house and set off towards where Matthew was being kept. No relatives had come forward for Matthew but he still needed care. They couldn't chuck him out on the streets so with the charges dropped he was free to live his life. The life he had left of course. It was a forty minute drive to the place and he parked staring up at the clean and pristine place. 

“I'm here to see Matthew Summers,” he told the front desk. It was a nurse who led him to a room and let him in to see him in his bed. Matthew was awake, his eyes open and looking towards the window. His body was covered with a blanket and he turned his head towards him.

“I wondered when one of you would come. You were the lesser option.”

“I came here to talk.”

“Not fight me? Sorry, my limbs don't appear to be working.”

“That was your own doing,” Derek answered taking a seat. Matthew snorted shaking his head. 

“Yes, I deliberately crashed the car hurting myself and my son.”

“He's not your son,” Derek said lightly, his hands folding together as he looked at him. “Why do you press on this? You got Stiles pregnant and you left. You took off and left him. Being a father isn't putting a sperm into somebody's body and earning rights. It's stepping in and raising them. Changing their diapers. Feeding them, consoling them when they're upset, doing everything you can to raise them right. You left, Stiles did the work, and then I came into the picture. He claimed me as a father well before Stiles and I realized it. I'm his dad, not you.”

Matthew's throat bobbed when he swallowed and looked away. “Don't you ever forget that he's mine in blood and genes. Yours in favoritism.”

“We dropped the charges.”

“I was told, why did you do that?”

“It was Stiles' decision, I opted against it, I thought you should be punished for kidnapping a child but,” Derek said slowly, his eyes darting around the room. “He believed justice was served. That your own self punishment was enough.” 

“Being paralyzed and unable to move. Bit of a severe punishment, don't you think?”

“I wouldn't wish it on anyone,” Derek said honestly.

“You think that makes you a better man?”

“No, an honest one, you kidnapped Jamie, you talked and treated him like dirt, then you crashed the car. Damaging yourself and Jamie only for a momentary time. You couldn't leave it alone, could you?”

“I saw a chance and I took it,” Matthew snapped, his eyes blazing red and directed at him. “I wanted to get to know him!”

“Jamie was not yours to take and get to know!”

“Stiles, he – he didn't even give me a chance. We all make mistakes!”

“Leaving a child behind?!” Derek cried angrily.

“I was messed up! I wasn't ready for parenthood.”

“Neither was he but he did it,” Derek argued with him. “I should rip you apart, I should end that useless pathetic life -”

“Then do it, fucking do it,” Matthew hissed. “This, right here, it's no life. Not when I'm being pumped with drugs and fed through a straw. Some nurse wiping my ass and giving me baths. I'm useless, I'm nothing now! So please, please rip me apart, end it all now.”

Derek stared at him in disbelief. There was no lie in his eyes, nothing but sheer desperation. 

“If you don't do it, I eventually will.”

“How?”

“I'll find a way, bite my tongue and let myself bleed to death in the night. I watched Million Dollar Baby, I'll do it,” Matthew spoke in a cracked voice. Derek swallowed turning his head to look out the window and stare at the trees. There was no birds, nothing but the rustle of the leaves in the light breeze.

“Jamie, is he okay?”

“He's doing okay, he has nightmares, comes into our bedroom screaming at night sometimes. Stiles is worried sick about him. He doesn't need the worry when he's four months pregnant with twins,” Derek replied. 

“I – I never meant to hurt him.”

“Well you did,” he snapped, leaning back. “He'll grow up, eventually grow out of his nightmares. Forget about the accident, forget about you.”

“You won't even tell him when he's older?” Matthew demanded.

“I don't know, not my decision to make, that Stiles' and he wants nothing to do with you. You put him, put us through hell, hurting Jamie. He could have gone into early labor, anything could have happened, all because of your selfishness!”

“I know!” he yelled back at him. “Don't you think I've been replaying it over and over in my mind that I did this?! That I hurt him! That my own need to see him drove me to this end, that I'll never see him again, talk to him, be stuck in this bed the rest of my life. Never being with anyone, never having love or more children or anything! You asshole!”

“Don't expect me to feel sorry for you,” Derek warned, shaking his head.

“I don't want you feeling sorry for me, I only want one thing from you, just one,” he spat in his direction.

“What?”

“Take care of him, both of them, do what I couldn't, you sorry son of a bitch.”

That was something he hadn't expected and he blinked pulling back to stare at him. Derek's fingers twitched and he nodded once.

“I was going to do that anyway.”

“Whatever, just get out of here. I don't think shouting and screaming at a cripple is going to do you any good. I'm sorry for hurting him but not for taking him. I just wanted to get to know him, see the little boy who grew up. Take care of him.”

Derek didn't know how to answer so he simply left him to it. It was an odd feat but it was like closing a book on a chapter and knowing you weren't going back to it. He stopped off getting coffee and donuts for Stiles since he was allowed only one and headed home. Stiles was sat with Jamie in his lap when he arrived home and Jamie squealed in delight to his bag of donuts.

“How did it go? God, this is great,” he mumbled, sipping his coffee and looking at him.

“Come to the kitchen,” he inclined his head. Stiles followed eating and sipping his coffee. 

“I didn't yell or rip him apart. We spoke, but he was more than willing to let me rip him apart.”

“What?”

“He was contemplating suicide. He also said, his final wish, was for me to take care of you and Jamie. It was odd. Something I didn't expect from him but maybe cruelty dealt it's hand and he was defeated.”

“Fuck,” Stiles mumbled, chewing his food and swallowing it down hard. “I don't want to feel sorry for him. Not after everything.”

“It's over now though, this is all over, we can start moving on. Think about us, think about these two,” Derek murmured, his hand tracing over the bump. Stiles smiled looking down and nodded drinking his coffee. “We can think about that nursery.”

“Well I was thinking we could wait till we know the sexes and then decide how we're decorating it. I'm one hundred per cent sure I am carrying two little princes.”

“You think? I say one of each.”

“No way,” Stiles protested amused. “I feel the same way I was with Jamie. Two little boys, we're going to be an army of men!”

“I say differently.”

“Mother knows best!” he cried. 

“You need to stop watching Tangled.”

“Jamie loves it,” Stiles hissed at him in retaliation. “It's better than fucking Frozen. I am so sick of that film I want to beat whoever created it...to death. Erase it from the world.”

“Easier said than done.”

“Don't piss off a pregnant guy,” Stiles shrugged. Derek rolled his eyes at him and proceeded to root through the fridge for something to eat. The rest of the donuts were eaten by Jamie and Stiles who shared them on the couch. Jamie resting his head on the bump and giggling listening to the twins heartbeats. Derek watched them from the doorway and smiled at Stiles when he looked at him. 

“It's your brothers or sisters, they can't wait to see you. You've got to take care of them, because you're going to be a big brother,” Stiles spoke softly to Jamie who listened avidly. “Because a big brother has responsibilities. You'll be able to play with them when you're old enough.”

“When?”

“Not now or any time soon but when they're old enough, baby,” Stiles reassured him. “You'll be the best big brother!”

“Best big brother,” Jamie repeated with a small smile.

“Exactly.” 

Derek could tell Stiles was proud of himself for that little speech for Jamie. He carried it with him throughout the rest of the night till it was time for bed. Stiles straddled his lap when he lay against the headboard. Derek traced his hands over him bump and down his thighs gently. Stiles cocked his head to the side enjoying the sensation of having his hands run all over him. 

“So warm,” he murmured, leaning down to press a kiss against his bump. “You have no idea how beautiful you look, do you?”

“Like a beautiful fat whale!”

“No, just beautiful, and round, and full of my babies. I love it.”

“Because you've got a big boner for pregnancy. You kinky bastard,” Stiles admonished him amused. Derek didn't deny it and leaned in to capture his lips. Stiles melted into him, his arms wrapping around his neck to cling to him. 

“I feel like this is a dream I haven't yet woken from.”

“Our nightmare is over.”

“Is it?” Stiles questioned gently. “Nothing lasts forever, Derek.”

“No, it doesn't, but it doesn't mean everything terrible happens all the time. Matthew came back and now he's gone. We just have to worry about us, about Jamie, about these two, and our lives now. I'm not letting anything hurt you or our family ever again,” he promised, his hands cupping his jaw so Stiles closed his eyes and swallowed. “You're everything to me, Stiles, I can't – I can't imagine my life without you anymore. You went and punched down all my walls and I'm screwed.”

Stiles chuckled clutching onto his wrists and nodded his approval to that.

“You could say the same thing about me. You've ruined me.”

“Good,” he murmured, gripping his wrists and gently flipping him onto his back. Stiles smirked up at him and leaned in to kiss him softly. His teeth nipping his bottom lip so he growled hooking him in closer. They shared kisses till exhaustion fell in and he held him close to his body while they slept. 

It didn't stop him from being on high alert. Which is why he woke up first hearing their bedroom door open and a tearful Jamie appear at the bed.

“Papa, I had a bad dream,” he whimpered. Derek gently eased him up and slotted him in next to him so he burrowed his face into his chest. Stiles opened one eye peering over him and stroked a hand through Jamie's hair before dropping back down sleepily.

“It's just a bad dream, just your mind being silly and playing tricks. You're okay,” he reassured him. Jamie bit his lip but nodded closing his eyes nestling closer to him. They couldn't do anything but reassure him they weren't real till they went away and he healed enough to sleep without them. Derek felt that bubble of ferocious anger for Matthew for doing this to him. For ruining that part of him. 

*

“Nervous about the scan?” Scott asked him. Stiles glanced up from where he was folding laundry and shook his head.

“No, we're seeing the babies, we get to know the sex, and I can't wait! But we're not here to talk about me, we're here to talk about you and boy wonder.”

Scott rolled his eyes and bowed his head. “It's just a relationship!”

“So you don't want to be mated?”

“I want to know he's the one before I jump in head first,” Scott said, his eyes flicking to him so he gasped reaching over to push his shoulder. “Oh come on, you and Derek are meant to be, in the stars, soul mates or whatever. I thought I had that with Allison. I was so...willing to do that, to be with her forever, but she – she left. We fell apart and while things with Isaac and I are good I don't want to ruin it. Ruin it by asking him for it and then losing him because it's good and I really like him.”

“Love him?”

“Maybe, not too sure, but I feel more than I did with Allison.”

“Whoa, then you definitely love him, dude.”

“I didn't even know I was bisexual till I met him.”

“Oh I don't know, I remember our experimentation’s and your surprise boner,” Stiles muttered amused. Scott grimaced waving him off and burying his head into his hands. “Nothing to be ashamed of dude. I know you love me so deeply deep down but I'm a taken man now. Carrying his pups and sucking his dick.”

“Oh my god, Stiles, please, shut up,” Scott pleaded with him. Stiles laughed waving him off and finished folding the laundry to sit down and sip the lemonade.

“I think, my personal opinion, you should at least consider taking that final step. You've been together for ages now.”

“Well we're not you and Derek.”

“Hey, that has a hint of judgment in there! I knew I wanted to be with him forever. I mean look at him!”

“Little shallow, Stiles, you can't just be with him for his looks.” 

“It's not his looks, okay a little bit his looks, but it's under the surface I fell in love with.”

Scott cocked his head at him and agreed with a flick of his fingers. “How's Jamie shaping up?”

“Nightmares nearly every night, we try and settle him, give him warm milk, a story before bed, a nice bath, but he'll still wake up screaming. That crash...it did a number on him. Still believes the bad man is going to snatch him up and take him away from us. I hate Matthew, I wish Derek had ripped him apart limb from limb for doing this to us. But more importantly for doing it to Jamie, no child should have that playing on his mind.”

“Shit, Stiles, I wish there was something I could do,” Scott grimaced. Stiles smiled sadly and gratefully at him. 

“Thanks, buddy, but I'm sure it'll get better before it gets worse.”

Scott reached out to pat his arm and Stiles bowed his head to stare down at his lap. Derek was currently out with Jamie while they went shopping. Preschool had been off until they could decide to find an appropriate school that didn't let children out like that. Plus Stiles wasn't ready to let him go just yet. His nerves were torn apart.

Scott drank his lemonade and left him to it so he was home alone and left on the couch to put up his feet. His hands rubbed over his bump and he watched the television waiting for them to come home. He wasn't expecting a commercial to come on about abused animals. Dogs and cats from homes that hurt them, abused them, and left them defenseless and hurt. The tears in his eyes came suddenly and sharply and he soon found himself crying. His emotions completely out of control when he cried about abused puppies and kittens. 

Derek arrived home not soon after to find him sitting with tissues surrounding him and red eyes.

“Stiles?” he said sharply. “What's wrong?”

“It's nothing,” he replied weakly. “Just a commercial. My hormones are all over the place today.”

Derek sighed in relief walking away from him to dump the groceries in the kitchen. Jamie appeared running up to him and jumping on the couch next to him with a giggle.

“Dada, upset?” he cried concerned.

“No, monkey, I'm fine, promise,” he said, kissing the top of his head and pulling him into a cuddle. He buried his nose into his hair inhaling deeply and letting his scent wash over him. 

“Babies,” Jamie murmured gently. His hand touching the bump so he nodded and smiled. “One, two.”

“Clever boy,” Stiles praised him. 

“I was thinking something light for dinner, it's too hot for something heavy,” Derek said to him once he walked into the kitchen. “Salad.”

“Rabbit food,” he murmured.

“Healthy, for you, me, and the pups.”

Stiles blew a raspberry at him but conceded knowing Derek wouldn't back down. It was a nice evening even so when they ate together and put Jamie down for the night. His night light on and his teddy bear tucked into his arms before he eventually fell to sleep. They curled together on the couch that evening, Disney films playing on the big screen. It hadn't been the best idea to watch The Lion King in his emotional state and he burst into tears when Mufasa died. Derek chuckled holding him close and wiped his tears away with a brush of his thumb.

“Oh my god, I'm a wreck. Pregnancy has ruined me,” he sobbed into his shoulder.

“It's just your hormones, you'll be okay.”

“Stupid life wrecking film.”

“Should we get an early night, you look tired, I know you were up half the night tossing and turning.”

“It's my back,” Stiles explained. “It gets sore, plus my ankles have swelled up.”

Derek frowned moving him forward to lay a hand on his lower back and ease some of the pain away. “When you wake up in pain, tell me, I'll help out the best I can.”

Stiles nodded and took his hands when he helped him up and Derek locked the house up for bed. He let out a groan of relief sliding under the soft covers, Derek stripping off down to his briefs before sliding in next to him. His hands cupped the back of his neck to kiss him softly before they snuggled down into the pillows.

“Love you,” Stiles whispered into his chest.

“I love you too,” Derek replied muffled into his hair. 

His sleep was light and he skipped in and out of dreams only to be woken up in the middle of the night. His first thought was it was Jamie waking up again but he picked up his heartbeat in his bedroom. Stiles squinted at the time on the alarm informing him it was twenty five past three. Derek snored softly on his back and he frowned wondering what woke him up till he felt it. It was a soft kick one that startled him to wake up and press his hand to it in awe. They were both kicking, it felt like butterflies in his stomach, and he turned to Derek shaking him hard.

“Derek!” he hissed.

“What?” Derek slurred sleepily. “Stiles?”

“Feel,” he whispered, grabbing his hand and pressing it to where one of the twins was kicking him repeatedly. Derek woke up almost instantly and sat up joining him. His smile appearing slowly feeling their kick for the very first time.

“They're active.”

“Tell me about it,” Stiles murmured. “Tomorrow we get to find out what we're having. Maybe they know.”

“Hello pups,” Derek whispered, his hand pushing on his chest to lie him on his back. His lips pressed against the skin of his bump when he pushed up his top. Stiles laughed quietly when they kicked in response. Derek's smile brightened and he lay his ear against the bump listening to them.

They eventually drifted back off, Derek's hands framing the bump until the alarm went off and Jamie appeared at their door wanting breakfast.

“No nightmares!” Stiles cried excitedly so Jamie giggled. “We'll eat all our breakfast and then Aunt Laura is going to come and take you out for the day.”

“Yay!” he cried excitedly. 

Stiles poured him cereal and juice and had his own sitting opposite him. Derek came down after fifteen minutes dressed and kissing them good morning. Jamie smiled up at him with milky teeth and sparkling eyes. 

“No bad dreams, papa, I dreamed of cake.”

“Did you?! What cake?” Derek asked, pouring himself a coffee.

“Chocolate, it was bigger than dada!”

“Wow,” Derek cried with enthusiasm. “That sounds like a very good dream.”

Laura turned up around quarter to one wearing sunglasses, her hair piled up high on her head. It was a roasting summer and Stiles glared up at the beautiful sky mournfully. It was exhausting to be pregnant in this heat. 

“Who's the cutest boy in the whole wide world?!” she cried, holding out her hands for Jamie who yelled excitedly back at her.

“Me!”

“Yes, it's you, you cuddly bear,” she said, scooping him up so he squealed looping his arms around her neck. “Looking forward to our day out?”

Jamie nodded happily. Laura hummed dropping him back down and straightened pointing a finger at him. 

“I want a picture and a confirmation of sexes the moment you find out. I am the Aunt, I deserve to know first.”

“Dad got those rights, first thing he warned me of before he went back to Beacon Hills.”

“Screw gramps, I'm here, he's not.”

Stiles closed his eyes and huffed amused before giving in with a nod. Jamie left clutching Laura's hand and the house was quiet. There was a touch of nerves that wouldn't fade while they got ready and Derek drove them to the doctor's. His hands twitched and he looked up with a smile when Derek took his hand into his. It was reassuring and he leaned into him gratefully. The waiting room wasn't as packed out as he believed and he sat gratefully down waiting for the nurse to call them in. 

“You still betting on boy and girl?”

“If I win, you cook tonight.”

“Okay, and if I win, I get a foot rub, a back rub, and you cook. I say two boys.”

“Fine,” Derek smirked. 

Derek's thumb stroked across his knuckles and they both looked up when the nurse called them in. 

“So how are you feeling?” she said with all smiles and pleasantries. 

“Achy and feeling like a balloon. But good and just want to see those pups,” Stiles answered, climbing on to the table and laying back. The gel was cold and he bit his lip glancing at Derek who stood by his side. His eyes a vibrant red watching the nurse fiddle with the machinery and press the transducer to his stomach. 

“Chill,” Stiles muttered, nudging him in the ribs so he growled looking down at him possessively and he eyed the nurse speculatively.

“Don't worry, we get it all the time,” she reassured Stiles with a small smile. “Alphas are naturally protective of their omegas during this time. It's just instinct.” 

“Still,” Stiles mumbled. The nurse brought up the images of the babies and he stared at the babies once blobs on the screen. His hand squeezed Derek's tight and he bit his lip staring at the two babies moving their limbs on the screen.

“Everything looks great, they seem to be the perfect size for around eighteen weeks, good heartbeats and growth,” she said, moving the transducer over his abdomen carefully. “Would you like to know the sexes?”

“Yes, please,” Stiles answered eagerly.

“Well from what I can see here on the screen, it looks like we've got two little girls.”

“Girls?” they demanded at the same time shocked.

“Almost certainly but sometimes we makes mistakes but I can't see anything that could determine they're boys. So yes, two little girls.”

“Oh my god!” Stiles cried excitedly. Derek huffed amused and leaned down to kiss him when he tugged him. “We're having princesses. Oh and we both lost.”

“I'll still give you your foot rub and back rub.”

The nurse gave them a moment alone to celebrate it together and she returned with two photos of the twins. Stiles almost immediately took a picture and sent a picture to everyone who cared and announced the sexes to them.

“I'll answer their calls and texts later on,” he said, his arms looping around Derek's neck when they stood in the parking lot. “We're having baby girls! I can't believe it. We have to decorate the nursery for them, decide names! Oh my god!”

Derek laughed in response to his excitement and held him closer. Their foreheads brushing so Derek kissed his nose and he scrunched it up in response. It was the first burst of real happiness since finding out Jamie was alive and well he had. It felt good, he wanted it to last, and hopefully he could make it last.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BABY NAMES FOR THE TWIN GIRLS.
> 
> Do you have any suggestions?????


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah! I am so so sorry for the week update right here. Oh my god. I just hit a writers block and I didn't know what to write at all. I also discovered Phan so I've been on YouTube most of the week. Those boys! 
> 
> So here it is! Thank you so much for all the baby names. You really did help with the chosen names ;)

The announcement of the twins being two little girls was the chain reaction Stiles needed. It was the trigger really, the excitement buried under his angst and woe of Matthew and Jamie. They were kicking him now, pokes and prods that kept him up at night. They kicked his ribs, jumped on his bladder, one most of the time had hiccups and Derek chuckled in the night if he felt them against his chest. Alongside that torment was his hormones. Stiles didn't know he could suddenly laugh at a joke on the television and then break down crying because there was no chocolate sauce. Tears of hysteria that had Derek literally grabbing his car keys and driving all the way to the store for chocolate sauce. Which he then proceeded to drizzle on onion rings and eat them. The look of disgust was hilarious and he knew Derek was never going to let him live it down. 

With the announcement of his princesses brought the ladies into his life. Lydia, most of all, demanding to take him shopping. The nursery needed to be designed and fitted out, they needed a double stroller, cribs, clothes, diapers, the whole lot. 

“Babies will be here by the end of the year, we're in the fallout of summer, we need to get a serious move on for when these twins arrive. They deserve the best nursery. I was thinking pink and yellow,” Lydia said, pacing in front of him so he frowned and lay his aching back down.

“Pink and yellow? Paint it black!”

“Stiles,” Lydia rolled her eyes. “Take this seriously! You have two daughters on the way. They don't deserve a black nursery.”

“Yes, ma'am,” he saluted. 

“We can go this weekend. Make sure you get Derek's credit card,” she instructed and with a wave of her hand she was gone. Stiles blinked and rubbed a hand over his bump. They were sleeping, thankfully, but he knew they'd be up later on. They seemed to favor when he wanted to go to sleep and didn't care. Derek insisted they were training to be ballerinas. 

Stiles had a baby book of girl names when Derek came back from work with Jamie in tow. They had finally chosen a preschool, it was further away from the last but it was the best. According to the reviews on websites and so far so good. Jamie had already made a couple of friends. 

“Hey, how about Amanda?” 

“No,” Derek scowled. “I knew an Amanda. I didn't like her.”

“Oh my god, it's only when you're having a baby that you decide names and truly realize how many people you hate. I had the same situation with Jamie,” Stiles ranted, shaking his head at Derek who sat down and put his feet into his lap. “Okay, how about these, Rachel, Mary, Louise, Chelsea?”

“No, to all of them, they just don't...feel right,” Derek objected with a shake of his head. Stiles agreed with a tired sigh flicking through the pages. “We have plenty of times, Stiles, the perfect name for both of them.”

“I guess,” he murmured. “You know while you have my feet in your lap...”

Derek smirked at his suggestive tone and peeled his socks off to rub down the arch of his foot. Stiles groaned arching his neck back and closing his eyes. It felt so good on the aches and pains his poor feet brought him day by day. 

“Lydia is taking me shopping at the weekend. I demand your credit card.”

“It's yours, I guess this is to get baby stuff.”

“Clothes, cribs, you want to come with us? We're a team and it's both of our decisions.”

“What about Jamie?”

“That's why we have friends, plenty of babysitters, see what they're doing and if they're free then we ask them to mind Jamie for a few hours. I don't like making huge decisions without your decision too.”

Derek smiled a small soft smile and nodded rubbing a hand over his thigh. He took over that night getting dinner ready and Jamie ready for bed. Derek ran him a warm bath, bubbles and scents that made him want to stay there forever. Stiles sunk into the warmth with a grateful sigh, Derek watching him from where he sat on the toilet seat. 

“You sure this won't trigger an early labor.”

“Yes, it's fine, stop worrying.”

“I worry because you're getting bigger and bigger and we don't need the babies being born earlier because you want to soak in the bath,” Derek ranted. Stiles rolled his eyes and flicked water at him so he flinched back and scowled in response. 

“So, anymore baby names?”

“Lolly?”

“What?” Stiles demanded. “Lolly? Like a popsicle? No, no, no, and oh no.”

“Rose.”

“No.”

“Betty.”

“Are we having an eighty year old? It's the twenty first century, Derek, join us!” 

“Fine, you pick some,” Derek argued, his arms folding across his chest. 

“I was thinking of two, I was up most of the night because they kept kicking my ribs and whoa that hurts like a bitch! And I was picking out certain names that I thought were cute. We already know the middle names are going to be our moms. Awesome choice,” he ranted, his hands skimming the bubbles. “So...what about, for real and seriousness, Luna and Madison? We can call them Luna Talia and Madison Claudia. They can be Hales of course, me and Jamie will carry on the Stilinski name.”

Derek's expression twisted to one of thoughtfulness, his hands braced on his knees when he leaned forward. “They sound good. I like Luna and Madison, cute, very cute.”

“So...” he trailed off with an incline of his head. “Those are the names?”

“I think they are.”

“Yes,” Stiles hissed delighted, his hands slapping the water. “Luna and Madison, we can nickname her Maddie.”

“If she wants.”

“Ah, I can't wait till they get here,” he said, spreading his hands over the bump. Derek smiled at him and Stiles spent the rest of his bath relaxing and washing himself. It was only at the end when the water was draining that he had the real trouble. Getting out of the tub was the difficult part and that's why Derek sat with him to pull him out.

“I look like a big fat pig,” he whined.

“Beautiful.”

“You have to say that! You're my mate and you know I'll kick your ass if you say anything different.”

“Partly true, I still find you beautiful, Stiles, you have no idea how amazing you look to me.”

“Yeah, I see your dick rising,” Stiles muttered, eying his body while wrapping a towel around his own. Derek rolled his eyes but walked with him to the bedroom. Early nights were all the norm with Jamie playful as ever and hardly any sleep. Stiles dressed in a large top and briefs before slipping under the covers. Derek joining him once he checked over the house and made sure everything was locked up tight and Jamie was asleep. 

“So the first baby to come out is Luna and the second baby to come out is Madison, deal?” Stiles murmured gently as they curled up together. 

“Deal.”

“Let's hope we don't have a star wars moment and I choke out the names before giving up my life.”

Derek huffed poking him hard in the chest so he flailed hitting him. 

“What was that for?”

“Don't joke about complications and dying, Stiles, it's not funny or amusing or whatever it was,” he argued bitterly. Stiles bit back a smile and leaned on his elbow to look down at   
him lying flat on his back. “I thought my worst nightmare was when Jamie was taken and everything happened. It's just one of them. I think the worst, the worst one of them all, is losing you. You dying and there is nothing I can do to fix it.”

“We're all going to die one day, it's inevitable,” Stiles murmured.

“You're missing the point, you have years ahead of you! Until we're in our eighties doing crossword puzzles and complaining about the youth!” Derek argued passionately so Stiles laughed. “I want you around for a long, long, time, annoying me, pestering me, arguing with me about shoes in the hallway and dishes in the sink. I want you beautiful and healthy, taking care of our babies till they're eighteen and we chuck them out.”

Stiles smirked leaning on his chest to look into his eyes instead. “What else?”

“I want to wake up every day and see your face.”

“Ah, you're so sappy,” Stiles laughed delighted, his lips finding his when he kissed him hard. “You're a huge sap who is outwardly all gruff and big scary alpha werewolf but inside you're my big cuddly teddy bear.”

“Fuck you.”

“Gladly, but maybe when I am not fatter than a pig,” he said, gesturing at himself. “Just stick to hand and blow jobs. Maybe a little rimming?”

Derek snorted closing his eyes and wrapped his arms around him to pull him closer to him.

“I like being in love with you,” Stiles murmured. “Sometimes I forget and I get to do it all over again. Like an ache in my chest, a good kind of pain. Reminds me of why I got so lucky.”

“You're calling me sappy?”

“We're having a moment!” he exclaimed, hitting his arm so he chuckled. “You've ruined it, it's dead and gone.”

“You should get some sleep.”

“I know but I'm carrying the babies from hell who like to kick and jump and prod me until I want to die.”

“Well are they awake now?”

“No...”

“There we go,” Derek murmured softly. Stiles rolled his eyes but rolled onto his back. Derek spooned from behind, his fingers trailing up and down his arm so he shivered and shut his eyes. The slow movement soon lulled him into a sleep and he only woke up around half four that morning needing to pee. They were both awake and kicking him gently when he struggled out of bed. The fact he had to kind of waddle upset him and he sighed heading to the bathroom. He returned to Derek still asleep and he slid under the covers and lay back down with a sigh. His eyes ached for sleep and he turned lying on his side and shoved a pillow in between his legs.

It was drifting in and out of sleep mainly feeling Luna and Madison kick him and sometimes kick each other. There was moments Stiles felt like Phoebe on Friends when her triplets were kicking each other. He resisted the urge to tell them off and to stop it. It was a long couple of hours before it seemed reasonable to climb out of bed and have his one coffee of the day. Derek hated it, scowled at him every morning, but he read those websites. He was allowed one, so he was having one. Jamie was becoming more and more lazy when Stiles walked into his bedroom to wake him up. 

“You're becoming more and more like me every day. Jamie, time for breakfast, come on,” he pleaded, flinging his blanket off him so he whined and scowled flashing his eyes at him.

“Oh no, the eyes do not work on me, maybe papa, but not me,” he said, walking out with his blanket and dumping it on the floor next to his door. Derek was already downstairs buttering toast when he joined him and picked up his cup.

“How many?”

“One as usual. Stop fussing! It's coffee, not cocaine,” Stiles muttered. 

“Caffeine is not...”

“Oh, it's not like I'm getting energy drink by the dozen and drinking them down! It's one cup of coffee! And I have told you about the dishes, they're not going to clean themselves just lying in the sink are they? We have a dishwasher!” Stiles ranted at him. Derek stood leaning against the cabinets and nodded eating his toast. It only irritated him.

“You know you can be so annoying sometimes!”

“Well you've woke up pleasant...” Derek murmured.

“Fuck you, fuck you and your good night sleep. You didn't have two babies kicking you in the early hours of the morning. You don't have two babies doing the fucking waltz on your bladder, kicking and dancing, and demanding food and cravings. I ask for just a few things and you can't even fucking do them! Don't get me started on leaving your wet clothes on the bathroom floor, we have a laundry basket in there! Do you think I like bending over to pick up your dirty briefs, you asshole? Do you?!” 

“Stiles, I'm sorry,” Derek said calmly in an attempt to appease him.

“Oh my god,” he growled at him walking away. “Just – just do the things that I ask, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Jamie!” he yelled up the stairs. “Breakfast! He's like a teenager already and he's not even four yet!” 

“I'll go get him, you, you stay down here, drink this, and try not to go into early labor shouting at the world,” he pleaded with him, his hand gently pushing at his shoulders. Stiles glared at his retreating back but sat down with a heavy groan. The television was turned on and it was ten minutes before Derek came down with a dressed Jamie. The coffee helped with his sudden anger problems and he felt calmer, more appeased once Derek sat down and joined him.

“How are you feeling?”

“Better, sorry for wanting to rip your head off.”

“You're carrying my babies, I'll let you off.”

“You let me off with too much.”

“Biding my time, waiting for them to be out before I give my revenge,” Derek said far too casually. Stiles smirked at him and leaned his head back to watch the television. Jamie soon made his way down sleepily grumpy and pouting as he came up to him and rested his head on the bump.

“Feeling sleepy?”

“Forever,” Jamie mumbled. “Sleepy.”

“Breakfast time, pup,” Derek said, scooping him up so he squealed and clung to his shoulders being carried away. Derek was literally his saving grace most of the time and he loved him for it. Stiles chilled drinking his cold coffee till it was gone and he could haul himself up after five minutes of struggle to go upstairs and change. It was all fun and games till you couldn't fit into a pair of your favorite jeans. Stiles wanted to cry. 

*

Stiles hated shopping. Shopping was worst without being pregnant but during was horrific. It was New York in end of August and it was far too hot for comfort. As well as feeling like he was carrying a bowling ball up his shirt and swollen ankles for the added touch. Lydia was lightening and determined to buy everything for Luna and Madison. Pink and yellow was the final design after they debated and finally gave in. The paint had been bought and the whole room cleaned and scrubbed down till it was gleaming. Stiles was practically gagging on the smell of bleach and disinfectant around the house that day. 

“What about these?” Lydia said, pointing out a set of bassinets for them to choose from. 

“Whatever, Lyds, whatever you think is best.”

Stiles left her to it trailing after Derek who moved towards the clothing section. His hands finding cute dresses and resting them against the bump so he flushed and smiled at him.

“Aw how cute will they look in this?” he cried, holding up a yellow summer dress covered in flowers and a bow. “We need two, they need to match!”

They ended up buying a whole load of baby clothes and sleeping wear for the two of them.

“Spoiled children already,” Stiles sighed. “I mean look at these teddy bears. Babies can't even see in color for weeks and we've brought them bright pink teddy bears.”

“They'll appreciate them more when they're older,” Derek argued, his hand gripping the back of his neck to kiss him. Stiles hummed pressing his hands to his chest and smiled when he hid them into an aisle so he could press his tongue into his mouth. Stiles fully understood the horny aspect of being pregnant leaning into him and falling into the display.

“I knew I'd find you two here.”

Stiles pulled quickly away to see Lydia staring at the two of them unamused. Derek coughed and cleared his throat leaning away from him and Stiles missed his warmth. 

“Couldn't resist,” Stiles smirked and winked at Lydia who rolled her eyes in response.

“Fuck each other later, we have baby stuff to find.”

“Oh come on! You know the two of us is in your personal wank bank,” he cried out to her and paused at the woman holding her young daughters hand looking scandalized. “Sorry...”

“I can't take you anywhere,” Derek mumbled, his hand tugging and leading him away. 

“Your fault!” he hissed at his retreating back. Lydia had them under her full control as they walked away and managed to get everything they needed for delivery the next day. The wonders of a credit card and a lot of spending. The twins were well and truly spoiled. They arrived home to see Laura and Jamie on the couch watching Tangled on the television.

“How did it go?”

“Good, got everything we need. Sort of,” Stiles explained with a shrug of his shoulders. “Just need diapers and milk but they can be bought at a later date.”

“Oh how sweet!” she cooed, her hands pulling out the clothes they had bought with them. “Oh they're going to look so beautiful in these. Plus matching dresses, oh you dorks!”

“They're twins, identical, hopefully, they need to match.”

“Thanks for minding Jamie,” Derek said. Laura nodded and stood wiping her hand on her jeans and rubbing her hand in Jamie's hair. She left with a wave over her shoulder and left them to it.

“I'll start the nursery tomorrow, get the ball rolling so to speak.”

“You don't want any help?”

“No,” Derek answered, his hands cupping the side of his neck to look into his eyes. “I want you resting, I don't want you straining yourself. Plus the fumes, not good for you.”

“Fine, but I want updates.”

“I know exactly what I'm going to do.”

Stiles could trust in Derek's judgment in that. There was something to trust in knowing exactly what Derek was doing. It meant he was alone for hours while Jamie was at preschool and he was in front of the television. The faint smell of paint lingering in the air so he sighed softly watching the screen.

It took weeks and Stiles wasn't allowed to look. Derek made him swear to wait until the finished product was complete and then he could look. It was killing Stiles waiting for him to finish it up. The door always closed and Derek emerging splattered in white, yellow, and pink paint. It was maddening. But while the weeks passed, Stiles seemed to get bigger. Clothes impossible to fit in and a waddle appearing every time he walked anywhere. Waddling wasn't something he was entirely fond of and his mood swings matched his feelings when he was throwing boxes of cereal at Derek.

“What have I told you about leaving empty packets in the cupboards? What, do you just pour yourself a fucking bowl and then think, 'I am far too lazy to put it into the bin like a normal fucking person, I'll leave it in the cupboard so Stiles can find it, think there is cereal and there isn't! I'll piss him off to the point of him wanting to strangle me' is that what you were doing?!”

“I'm sorry, Stiles. I wasn't thinking.”

“No, it's not your best quality, is it?!” he yelled at him till Derek had to walk away to let him calm down. 

Sometimes they had pregnancy scares. Like the first time Stiles felt a Braxton Hicks contraction in the middle of the store. Stiles bent over with a groan and Derek panicked. There was no other word for it when he was talking about hot towels and babies shooting out. Stiles stood watching him fuss and try to drag him out of the store till he calmly pressed a hand to his chest and explained false labor. 

“You couldn't have told me that earlier?”

“Well it was fun watching you freak out! God, you're going to pass out in the real labor aren't you?” Stiles laughed at him. Derek's eyes rolling and his jaw tense when they continued around the store. “I'm screaming pushing out two babies and you're passed out on the floor. I can see it now!”

“I hate you sometimes.”

“Yeah, but I give great head,” Stiles shrugged. “You can't deny that.”

Derek huffed walked away from him and Stiles' laughter as he chucked pasta sauce and pasta into the shopping cart. 

There was times he thought his waters broke and it turned out one of the babies was pressing on his bladder and he had pissed himself. That hadn't been fun. Not when he was stood in the hallway at three in the morning with a panicked Derek, a confused and barely awake Jamie, and piss soaking his jogging bottoms. Derek was without a doubt a nervous father to be.

But it was all made for up when Derek finally painted and designed the nursery four and half weeks later. Stiles was nervously excited when he stood waiting, Derek's hands covering his eyes so he awkwardly shuffled into the bedroom.

“You ready?”

“Yes!” he hissed excited. His hands were removed and his mouth dropped taking in the nursery. It was beautifully done. The walls painted a soft yellow, the ceiling a glossy white along with the skirting boards. But what surprised him most of all was the trees Derek had painted in brown, yellow, and pink over the two cribs. Deep brown in color and covered in pink bedding. The trees had birds and butteries fluttering around them and Stiles loved it more than anything. Pink curtains covered the windows and he sat in the well placed rocking chair in the corner looking around.

“Do you like it?”

“Derek, it's – it's amazing,” he breathed. “This is amazing! Who knew you were an artist! Fuck!”

“I liked art in school, as well as throwing an odd basketball in a hoop.”

“You're my genius, they're going to love it. I love it! Jamie didn't have a nursery, he just slept in his bassinet next to me. Couldn't afford it,” he muttered sadly. “But this – this is freaking awesome!”

“Good,” he replied pleased. 

“World's spoiled babies award!” 

“They deserve to be spoiled.”

“We should buy Jamie that game, he keeps begging me for it.”

“I agree,” Derek replied softly. His arms wrapped around his waist and he leaned back into him. His nose nuzzled against his neck and he smiled shutting his eyes. 

“They're going to be here soon, end of the year,” he muttered, his teeth nibbling his bottom lip nervously. “Then we're going to have two newborns and a toddler running around the house. Think we can do it?”

“I think we'll be brilliant.”

Stiles trusted Derek's judgment and turned wrapping his arms around his neck the best he could with the bump in between them. Derek's hand rubbed up and down his back slowly and lovingly so in return he was relaxed. It was everything he could do not to panic outwardly but with his support he knew this time round it would be a lot better.


	21. Chapter 21

To say Stiles was scared of his second round with labor was an understatement. He was freaking terrified. Derek was his shining star in the fact he was always there for him when he needed him. Especially now he was so big he couldn't see his feet anymore. The weeks and months passed by like they were nothing and he hated it as much as he loved it. Luna and Madison were determined to kick him and punch him till he was desperate to get them out. His bladder was out of his control and he couldn't sleep from the aches and pains in his leg and back. Pregnancy was difficult throughout, it was only in the middle everything seemed to be a bit okay. But in itself it was a blessing and they were both eagerly anticipating the birth. 

“At least Christmas is sorted,” Stiles said softly to Derek. They were laid out on the couch watching Christmas films later in the evening. 

Derek hummed softly in agreement, his fingers combing through his hair so he felt like a cat leaning into his touch. “I've never felt so organized.”

“I know right? I'm normally a mess around this year, it was a nightmare trying to get everything on top of the bills and rent. Little different this year,” he murmured, his hand stroking down his bump. Thankfully, they both seemed settled and he had a time out before they started kicking and poking him.

“You won't have to worry about that ever again,” Derek promised him.

The closer it got to Christmas and towards the end of the year the more and more tense Stiles got. The anticipation of the birth was approaching and Stiles was edging closer to thirty seven weeks when he felt the huge urge to clean and begin nesting. Stiles was piling blankets and Derek's tops on their bed when Derek walked in and paused watching him.

“Stiles, what are you doing?”

“Just had the biggest urge to make everything comfortable, doesn't it look more comfortable? I mean it's getting so cold lately and look,” he said, sitting amongst them and looking at Derek who raised his eyebrows smiling.

“You're nesting.”

“Yes...”

“Preparing for the babies arrivals.”

“I had Jamie two days after I nested with him,” he whispered, biting his lip hard and wrapping his arms around himself. Derek joined him huffing gently amused and rubbed a hand carefully through his hair.

“Nothing to be scared of, Stiles, this was always going to happen and now it is. Now I get to be on high alert for waters breaking and you screaming murder.”

“I'm quite good with labor, you're the one who panics, Derek, so I'll be screaming murder and you'll be in the corner rocking back and forth. Then I'll shout at you and properly break your hand, I broke Scott's and he's never quite forgiven me.”

“I don't mind you breaking my hand when you're bringing my two girls into the world.”

“You're so sappy sometimes,” Stiles mumbled, his hands tugging his jacket so he could kiss him. Derek cradled the back of his neck with gentle hands and pulled away so they could both breathe. 

“I want you to rest as much as you can, stay in here, if you're due soon then...we better prepare. Get the bags ready, everything.”

“We'll do it now, while Jamie's at preschool.”

Derek packed the bags while Stiles sat on the bed pointing out everything they would need. His hands cradled Derek's top and he sniffed it deeply for his scent as he did. It calmed him down and appeased his wolf at the same time. Derek sat with him though once he was done and cuddled him close till he had to go and pick Jamie up from preschool. It was unreasonably boring having nothing but lie around all day watching television, on the laptop, or reading a book. The fact he needed help going to the bathroom or even walking down the stairs was ridiculous to him.

“I want them out! I am so sick of looking like a big fat beached whale. So sick of being woken up by kicks to my ribs! It fucking hurts, this is all your fault,” Stiles raged at him two days after the nesting. Derek sat with him and held his hand listening to him rant and rage at him. “You getting me fucking pregnant. Like seriously.”

Derek never responded, simply kissed his forehead and rubbed his lower back till the pain was gone and he felt better. Stiles was kind of glad that he didn't respond because he was in no mood for arguments. Jamie helped cheer him up though when he came in and curled into his side. His little hand petting the bump gingerly.

“Your little sisters,” he murmured softly. “They're kicking for you, they know you're here. Say hello.”

“Hello,” Jamie called against the bump so one of them kicked hard in response. Stiles chuckled rubbing the spot and leaned down nuzzling his hair for comfort. 

“When are they getting here, daddy?”

“They'll be here soon and then you can hold them. With help of course because you're still little.”

“Not little! I'm a big boy now!”

“I know, you're nearly four,” he teased, ticking him under his arms so he squealed and wriggled away. “But you're still little, monkey. You still need to be looked after and taken care of. Don't you?”

“Yeah,” Jamie agreed. 

“Exactly,” he kissed his forehead carefully. The phone rang downstairs and he listened to Derek answer it in a quiet tone. Stiles ignored that and focused on Jamie whispering to the bump and petting it gently. He loved them so much already and Stiles couldn't help but choke on his emotions. Derek was on the phone for a while before he came upstairs looking a little solemn. 

“What is it?”

“Jamie, why don't you go downstairs and put the television on before dinner?”

“Okay!” he cried, jumping down and hurrying out. Stiles frowned confused when he took a seat and looked at him. 

“Derek?”

“Matthew's dead.”

Stiles blinked at the words and sat up slowly to look at him. “What?”

“Committed suicide.”

“I feel like I shouldn't be surprised,” he murmured, his hands gripping the comforter with tight fingers. “You said he wanted to die and it wasn't – well it wasn't much of a life. Just didn't realize he'd do it. How did he do it?”

“Bit through his tongue, bled to death before anyone could get to him.”

“Fuck,” he whispered, his eyes flicking to the ceiling. “Didn't imagine I'd be telling Jamie when he's old enough that his biological father is dead in the ground. I can't believe it.”

“I know.”

Stiles swallowed hard and clasped Derek's hands when he offered them. There was a sadness there for a lost life but no grief. Not after everything that happened. Any affection and love for Matthew had long been vanquished. Derek comforted him though until he had to leave him to it and make dinner for the three of them. It wouldn't stop playing on his mind though and he poked at his food that evening instead of eating it. Derek threw him concerned glances every now and again but they kept their focus on Jamie. Jamie was prone to catching onto negative energy and when something was wrong.

So he kept his silence till Jamie was in bed and he was resting in theirs. 

“It's really affected you, hasn't it?”

“Not affected in the sense I want to break out crying and mourn him. It's just...shock. He's dead, gone from the world, we'll never see him again. Jamie will never meet him again. I know I should feel glad about that but there's a part of me that is sad about the fact that – that Jamie will never get his answers. He'll never get to question him or see him of his own will instead of us controlling it. I just – he never seemed the suicidal type. But then again I guess he never imagined being paralyzed from the neck down.”

“I get what you mean.”

“I just don't want this hanging over my head when the twins get here.”

“Then don't let it, we have our babies on the way. We don't need the stress.”

Stiles smiled sadly and opened his arms needing a cuddle. Derek was more than willing to do that for him when they rolled so he fitted against him without pushing the bump into him. It felt nice to be held and feel his fingers running through his hair while he closed his eyes and slowly tried to move on. 

* 

It was four days after Matthew's suicide that Stiles woke up in the middle of the night. The comforter draped over him was keeping him warm in the cold night. But the ripple of pain across his abdomen had him sitting up and gasping. His hand shook Derek viciously so he startled awake and sat up looking at him sleepily.

“Stiles?” he whispered.

“I think I'm in labor...”

“You think?”

“It could be Braxton Hicks, could be real contractions, I haven't broke my waters yet,” he whispered, his eyes meeting his to see the same fear in his eyes. “It just feels different.” 

“Okay, okay, well maybe we should wait it out. Time the contractions.”

Stiles nodded sitting up and breathed in and out steadily watching Derek fuss and get dressed. He bit back laughter because he knew Derek would be insane during labor. It was seven minutes later that he had another and he groaned leaning forward. It hurt more than he realized and he had to stand and pace along the floor. It was beginning to feel really real and he swore when another hit five minutes later. His knees buckled a little and he swore breathing in and out.

“Okay, okay,” Derek repeated getting his phone out. “I'm calling Laura, I'm sure she won't kill me for waking her up at half three. I'll get Jamie ready so she can pick him up and we're going to the hospital.”

“Yeah, sounds good,” he replied breathlessly. Derek left him pacing the length of their bedroom listening to him wake up a very sleepy and grumpy Jamie. He reached the bedroom window and stared out breathing deeply in and out of his mouth. He was about to move when he felt it, it was like a slow tear and wetness suddenly greeted his pants and flooded down his leg.

“Derek!” he shouted. “Waters!”

“Shit, really?” Derek cried, running in holding a disgruntled Jamie. His eyes swept down his soaked sweatpants and he nodded quickly breathing hard.

“Derek, don't you dare pass out on me! I need you here, I'm your omega, I don't need my alpha freaking out,” he shouted at him. Derek snapped out of his petrified gaze to look at him and nod swallowing hard. 

Derek took Jamie downstairs with the bags he bundled into the car and Jamie whined at being awake at a late hour. It didn't take Laura long at all to arrive and look after Jamie. Stiles carefully slid into the car and kissed her cheek when she leaned in and kissed his.

“We'll be there soon, good luck! Go give birth to my beautiful nieces, you superstar,” she said, her eyes glowing with happiness. She waved at the car when Derek drove them away and he grabbed his hand into his gripping tight.

“Oh my god, this is happening! I have to do this!” he cried. “Not one but two. Two babies, oh my god, how am I going to do this?!”

“Just like you had Jamie plus I'm here and I'm not going to leave you.”

“I – I was freaking terrified with Jamie, I cried throughout most of it. Scott trying to console me because I was so scared. So scared of having this tiny little pup to look after.”

Derek looked at him with soft eyes and took his eyes off the road to kiss his knuckles reassuringly. 

“I'm here.”

“I know,” he whispered.

They arrived at the hospital in no time at all and he was helped inside to reception. He was given a wheelchair and Derek followed beside him when he was wheeled into a private room. Derek made sure he had a private room thankfully. 

“Remember your breathing exercises,” the nurse reminded him kindly. “Very important.”

“Screw my breathing! Drugs, give me every drug you have!” he cried. “I want to sail through this and if these babies are drugged up like my first born was. Then so be it.”

Derek raised his eyebrows at him but chose not to comment helping him on the bed once he was in his gown. The night doctor soon joined them and along with his gas and air he was sucking into his mouth, he was doing good. The drugs were working their way into his system and he sat laid out on the bed. Derek sat on the chair next to him helping him through his breathing exercises every time a contraction hit him. 

“Oh this fucking hurts! Oh the crimes of being a fucking omega!” he howled, his claws making an appearance when a particularly hard and painful one hit him. Derek's eyes glowed and he shushed him softly, his lips pressing to his forehead when he let out a pitiful whine.

“You're doing so, so, good, I am so proud of you,” he whispered, his lips peppering his skin with little kisses so he blushed and shook his head. “We're nearly there, nearly ready to see our girls. You can do this, I need you to tell me you can do this.”

“Oh, fuck! Yes, yes, I can do this,” Stiles whispered. 

“Good,” Derek smiled.

It was a long process, one that had him nearly in tears most of the night when the hours dragged on and morning finally arrived. Daylight streamed in and Derek made sure he had alerted everyone to the twins soon to be arrival. 

“Doctor, tell me I am ready to have these twins or I will have my alpha rip your head off!” he threatened. The doctor smirked after checking him over and shook his head sadly.

“Nearly but not quite but I'd appreciate my head, so, please don't rip it off.” 

“I feel like Rachel off Friends. Just smoke them out, blow a trumpet, anything!” he cried, swatting Derek's hands away in an attempt to comfort him. “You can go away.”

“He's moody.”

“Moody?! You try having twins working their way out of you, you son of a bitch!” Stiles shouted at him so he rolled his eyes taking a seat. “Don't you roll your eyes at me.” 

“I'm not arguing with you when we're about to have our twins. You're moody, you're in pain, sleep deprived, hungry, and all you can have is ice chips. I'm not about to start a fight,” Derek reasoned. “So try and relax. You're going to need your energy.”

“Fuck my energy!” he chided childishly. 

Derek gestured a hand at him and he glared at the wall instead. Stiles ate his ice chips and squeezed Derek's hands each time a contraction hit. Derek was forever sweet pressing a cold compress to his forehead and sat behind him with Stiles between his legs. His lips grazed his ear and he whispered encouraging endearments into his ear. 

It was seven hours into the labor when the doctor finally came in and looked over him to let him know he was ready. If he wasn't so sleep deprived and in pain he would have punched the air. Instead he let out a breath of relief when he was finally able to start it off and get it going. Stiles was wheeled into the delivery room and he held onto Derek's hand tight.

“If I break your hand, I am so, so, sorry.”

“Don't worry.”

It was a painful process that involved shifting his body to accommodate the birth and yet again it felt like he was being ripped in two giving birth. It was stop, push, wait for the next contraction, and finally so much pushing. It was the second to final push of the first twin that he squeezed Derek's hand so hard he heard something crack.

“Oh my god,” he wheeze breathlessly. Derek's face twisted into a grimace. “I broke your hand!”

“More like fractured, I think, it's fine,” he said offering his other hand to him. Stiles let out a sound of breathless laughter before it trailed off and he gave the final push to the first twin. Luna was born first, a loud cry echoing the room as she came into the world. Stiles gasped in happiness and relief hearing that little cry and he stared down at the bloody slimy baby of his. Matted dark hair started her off and she was laid to rest on his stomach while they cut the cord and passed her off to a nurse. 

“She's so tiny,” he whispered, eyes meeting Derek's. 

“She's beautiful.”

“Okay, Stiles, are you ready for the next one?”

“Oh god, again?!” he muttered. “Fine.”

It was a little easier pushing Madison out into the world and she kicked and screamed the moment she entered. Lungs healthy and screaming around the room as she did. Stiles was a sweaty exhausted mess but it didn't stop him from crying in relief. Derek kissed him softly, his fingers stroking his cheek so he shut his eyes listening to the nurses fuss over them. 

“Here we are, one of each?” the nurses said, walking over to them. They were wrapped in pink blankets and Stiles was handed Madison. Her hair was dark just like Luna's and he would have guessed they would have taken Derek's style. Her eyes were open when they stared up at him and he smiled at the baby blue of them. She was perfect and he offered his finger to her and bit his lip feeling her grip him back. 

“They're perfect, they're so perfect,” Derek whispered. 

They wheeled back to the recovery room, the babies coming with them till they were back in the room and they could bond before they taken away. 

“Look at that tiny nose, you're so beautiful,” he whispered, holding them both in his lap. Derek sat with him as they looked at the twins and Stiles smiled at Luna yawning and scrunching up her face. “Welcome to the world, babies. It sucks but you're not going to learn that for a long, long, time.

“I love you,” Derek whispered. 

“Love you too,” Stiles replied softly. 

They were allowed some bonding time with the babies before the nurse came to take them to the nursery and allow them some rest. Derek left him in the room to contact the family and he was able to slip into a drug induced sleep for the healing. It was a slow process healing after labor and he grateful for the few hours sleep he would get. His dreams were hazy and mixed with colors and the babies' faces. 

Stiles woke up slowly and surely to the sound of low murmuring and the sucking of milk. His eyes opened to see Laura and Derek sitting in the seats holding the babies for their feed. 

“Where's Jamie?” he croaked. Derek looked up surprised and blinked smiling at him. 

“Waiting room with Scott and Isaac. I didn't want to wake you, so I got Laura and we fed them, they only started feeding five minutes ago.”

“They feeding okay?”

“Madison took some convincing,” Laura replied for him. “She is a beauty, Stiles, seriously, proud of you.”

“Thanks,” he smiled, his body tensing in pain when he sat up and leaned against the cushions. Stiles watched them feed the twins till they were full and needed burping. Derek brought Luna over to him so he could rub her back till she let out a small burp and she whined sleepily in his arms. Laura headed out to go and get the others so they could meet the twins. Jamie was a barrel of energy running into the room, he skidded near the bed and stared at them both with wide eyes. 

“Is that the babies?”

“Yeah, come here, monkey,” Stiles smiled, hands outstretched to reach for him. Jamie hauled himself up to kneel next to him and the Madison was brought over in Derek's arms. “Jamie, meet Luna and Madison, there your sisters.”

“Wow, baby,” Jamie whispered, his hand touching Luna carefully. “Where did they come from?”

“Oh I wasn't expecting this conversation so soon,” he mumbled, Laura laughed in the background. “They came from me, I'll tell you the whole story one day. Okay?”

“Okay.”

“Hello, can we hold? Oh, and congratulations, oh my god, they're amazing,” Scott said excitedly, his hands flapping to gingerly hug him and take Luna off him.

They fussed and cooed over the twins while he watched and smiled at them amused. Jamie folded into his side and lay his head on his chest with a sleepy sigh. It was a little too much energy for him and he sighed softly in relief once they all finally left and it was the five of them. Madison slept against his chest and Derek sat on the bed with Luna awake and staring at him. Well the best she could see out of her newborn eyes. 

“Our little family,” Stiles murmured. “I can't believe we made it this far.”

“We've got far to go,” Derek counteracted smugly. Stiles smirked in response and leaned his head on his shoulder shutting his eyes. Yes, yes they did.

Stiles trailed his hand through Jamie's soft hair and smiled pressing a kiss into the softness of it. They had come so far from when he was eight months old and they had been chucked out like dogs. In an odd sense maybe it had to happen to start everything off. If Stiles had never been chucked out that day, Laura would have never forced him to meet Derek. He would have never fell in love with him and they wouldn't have what they had right now. They had a family.

"You saved me," Stiles whispered, his head tipping to look at him.

"What?" Derek murmured amused, his eyes flicking to Luna now dozing in his arms. It was an endearing sight. 

"Well not just me, us," he said, his head nodding to Jamie in his arms as well as Madison. "Derek, you took us in when we needed you most and through that, through everything, we got this. I love you, so much, Derek, you have no idea. You're like my own personal superman."

"Superman," Derek rolled his eyes amused. Stiles smiled but didn't feel that level of amusement and instead leaned in pressing a kiss to his mouth. It was a sweet tender kiss that left him breathless and wanting when he pulled away to look at him. "So are you my Lois Lane?"

"Hell yes," Stiles agreed, his forehead pressing against his so he shut his eyes once more and smiled happy. This was his now and it was only the beginning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry to the people who do not like Luna's name. I found it very sweet and I've never read a story with a child named Luna, maybe too cliche? Oh who cares, it's cute.


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AUTHOR'S NOTE.

So this intitally was supposed to have two chapters more to see the twins grow and develop but my brain said "NO" and it frustrated me to be unable to write two more so I decided to end it on the previous chapter instead. With Stiles and Derek having their babies and just ending there in a sense of happily ever after instead of rambling on. I may do a chapter in the future of them all in the future with Jamie, Madison, and Luna all grown up but we'll see how it goes.

Thank you to everyone who subscribed to the story and who left comments and kudos. Eternally grateful.


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